Parentage is the legal relationship between a child and a parent. When parentage is established, the person seeking to establish parentage becomes the child's legal parent with the rights and responsibilities of a parent.
How is the parentage of a child established?
- By presumption (marriage and nonmarital)
If the person giving birth is married at the time of either conception or birth, or anytime between conception and birth, the spouse is considered a parent. Their name must be put on the birth certificate unless parentage is otherwise determined by a court or a voluntary acknowledgement of parentage by another individual.
A person is presumed to be a parent if the person resided in the same household with the child, openly held out the child as their own from the time the child was born or adopted for a period of at least 2 years thereafter and assumed personal, financial or custodial responsibilities.
- By voluntary acknowledgment
Parentage may be established by both parents signing a voluntary acknowledgement of parentage (AOP). If there is a presumed parent who is not the legal parent, the presumed parent must also sign a denial of parentage (DOP). The Vital Records office must receive both forms in order to change the parentage on the record.
Adults may also add parents to their birth certificate by presenting an adult Acknowledgement of Parentage or results of genetic testing.
- By court order
Parentage of a child can be established by a court. A parent or other authorized representative of the child may ask the court for an order establishing Parentage of a child by filing a proceeding to adjudicate parentage of the child (also called a court determination).
Adjudicated parentage can be as a result of genetic testing, determination of De Facto parentage or gestational carrier agreement (surrogacy).
For more information about each of these items, you may view our Maine Parentage Act FAQ document here: Maine Parentage Act (Word).
For other information or forms related to birth records, visit our Birth Records page.
For more information regarding court orders, visit our Court Orders page.
For any other questions, please contact us directly:
Data, Research, and Vital Statistics (DRVS)
Vital Records Unit
220 Capitol Street
State House Station (SHS) 11
(207) 287-3771
(888) 664-9491