lacounty.gov Customer Contact Center (866) 901-3212 ADA Assistance

- Twitter
- Instagram

Paternity Opportunity Program

In an effort to create a legal link between unmarried fathers and their children, the California Department of Child Support Services (DCSS) formed a partnership with licensed hospitals and clinics to establish the Paternity Opportunity Program (POP). This program gives parents who are not married an opportunity to voluntarily acknowledge paternity by signing a Declaration of Paternity form (sometimes referred to as a "POP Declaration"). POP began in hospitals and has expanded to include prenatal clinics, county welfare offices, local child support agency (LCSA) offices, and courts. When filed with the State, the declaration has the same effect as a legal judgment of paternity

The Benefits of Establishing Paternity by Acknowledgment

The Declaration of Paternity is a form that unmarried parents can voluntarily sign to legally establish paternity (fatherhood) of their child without going to court. Once it is filed with the State, it has the same effect as a court-ordered judgment of paternity. Unmarried parents who sign the Declaration of Paternity help their child gain the same rights and privileges as children born within a marriage.

These benefits may include some or all of the following:

Father’s name on the child’s birth certificate
Financial support
Access to important family medical records
Medical and life insurance coverage, if available
Social security or veteran’s benefits
Inheritance
Custody and visitation
The emotional advantage of knowing both parents

For more information on how a Declaration of Paternity can help you and your new baby, see a POP Fact Sheet published by DCSS

Visit POP Forms and Publications

Signing the Declaration of Paternity

When a baby is born to an unmarried mother, an authorized representative at the hospital or clinic will offer the parents the opportunity to complete and sign the form. The representative can help the parents complete the form and witness the parents’ signatures. When parents complete the form in the hospital, the father’s name can be added to the child’s original birth certificate. The father’s name will not be included on the Birth Certificate if the parents are not married and do not sign the Declaration of Paternity. The representative will send the original declaration form to the State for filing and will provide copies to the parents.

Military fathers-to-be on deployment can sign the Declaration of Paternity before the child is born.

Parents can also complete the Declaration of Paternity after they leave the hospital. CSSD representatives can help parents complete the form and witness the parents’ signatures. Parents may also receive assistance at the Office of the Family Law Facilitator. The assisting agency will file the original form with the State.

To complete a voluntary Declaration of Paternity at CSSD, Contact Us for our walk-in hours. Both parents must be present and bring government-issued, photo identification, such as:

State driver’s license or ID card
Passport
Military ID card
Inmate ID card

A parent can also request that the Declaration of Paternity form be mailed to him or her by contacting our Call Center at (866) 901-3212. If the form is not signed at the hospital or at a public agency, you will need to sign it in the presence of a Notary Public.

Once fully completed and signed, the original declaration form must be sent to the State within 20 days of the date it is signed. Mail the form to:

Department of Child Support Services
Paternity Opportunity Program (POP)
P.O. Box 419070
Rancho Cordova, CA 95741-9070

Canceling the Declaration of Paternity

Either parent may cancel or rescind the Declaration of Paternity by completing a Declaration of Paternity Rescission form in a timely manner unless a court order for custody, visitation, or child support has been entered. The rescission form must be signed in the presence of a Notary Public.

You may obtain a Declaration of Paternity Rescission form by contacting our local office, or the Office of the Family Law Facilitator. You may also obtain more information, including a copy of the rescission form, directly from DCSS by calling (866) 249-0773, emailing DCSS at askpop@dcss.ca.gov, or accessing Rescind or Cancel Filed Declaration of Paternity.

Visit Office of the Family Law Facilitator Go to Rescind or Cancel Filed Declaration of Paternity Page

Requesting a Copy of a Filed Declaration of Paternity

Parents may obtain a Request for a Filed Declaration of Paternity form by contacting DCSS at (866) 249-0773 or you may obtain additional information, including the form, by accessing Requesting a Filed Copy of the Declaration of Paternity.

Go to Requesting a Filed Copy of the Declaration of Paternity

Glossary Terms

Answer: A legal document that responds to a Complaint and must be filed with the court by the Person Paying Support. In general, an Answer can be used to ask for genetic testing or a chance to go to court about the amount of child support. A blank Answer form is served on the Person Paying Support with the Summons and Complaint/Proposed Judgment.

Arrears: Past-due unpaid support, including interest.

CalWORKs: Welfare Program

Central Civil West (CCW): Central Civil West District of the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles. The courthouse is located at 600 S. Commonwealth Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90005.

Court Hearing: If the PPS files an Answer with the court clerk, the case will be scheduled for a court hearing. A PPS may request Genetic Testing to determine if he is the biological father of the child and may ask the court to decide the amount of child support. If the PPS does not attend the hearing, the court may make an order without him or her.

CSSD: Los Angeles County Child Support Services Department – The agency responsible for managing the child support program in Los Angeles County.

Default: An action that is automatically taken when someone does not respond to legal papers or show up to court as expected.

Default Judgment: In general, if the PPS did not file an Answer to the S&C within 30 days, and a stipulation has not been reached, the judicial officer may enter a Judgment by default. This means the judicial officer may enter a final Judgment based on the terms of the Proposed Judgment, without a court hearing and without any input from the PPS.

Direct Deposit: You can have the payments automatically deposited into a checking or savings account. There are several ways to enroll

Electronic Payment Card (EPC): You receive a Mastercard branded card that works like a debit card. You can receive support payments easier, faster and have access to the funds 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The card can be used everywhere Mastercard is accepted. Some fees may be associated with the Electronic Payment Card.

Emancipate: Refers to legal emancipation, which frees a minor child (under 18) from the parents’ control if the minor marries, joins the armed forces, or gets a court order of emancipation. A parent does not have to pay current child support for an emancipated minor.

File: Submitting paperwork to the court clerk.

Guideline Calculator: The California Guideline Child Support Calculator – Online tool that can be used to estimate the amount of child support that may be ordered in your case. The calculator is based on child support guidelines set by law in California.

Income Withholding Order (IWO): Income Withholding Order – A document that tells an employer to withhold a specific amount of money from a Person Paying Support's wages for support and to send it to the State Disbursement Unit.

Judgment: A final determination by the court about the rights and responsibilities of the parties in a case, which usually establishes parentage (who the parent of the child is), and orders child support and health insurance.

Judicial officers: A Judge, or a Commissioner who is appointed by a Judge to hear a child support case.

Local child support agency (LCSA): The agency in each county that is responsible for managing the child support program.

Modification: A court-ordered change to an order, e.g., the amount of current child support ordered may be modified up or down.

National Medical Support Notice (NMSN): A notice that acts as an order requiring the employer (or other group providing health insurance) to enroll the employee’s child in the employer’s health insurance plan.

NRPS: A document that tells the Person Paying Support that support payments must be made to the State Disbursement Unit.

Order: A command of the court that decides an issue or directs action.

Parentage: Parent-child relationship (who the parent of the child is).

Passport Denial Program (PDP): Passport Denial Program.

Person Paying Support (PPS): Parent who the child does not live with most of the time.

Person Receiving Support (PRS): Parent or legal caretaker who the child lives with most of the time.

PPS: Person Paying Support - Parent who the child does not live with most of the time.

PRS: Person Receiving Support – Parent or legal caretaker who the child lives with most of the time.

Serve: Deliver legal paperwork to a party.

Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA): Servicemembers Civil Relief Act – Provides special protections to active members of the armed forces.

State Disbursement Unit (SDU): State Disbursement Unit – A central payment processing site that is responsible for collecting and distributing child support payments.

Stipulation: Agreement.

Summons and Complaint and Proposed Judgment (S&C): Summons and Complaint/Proposed Judgment – A set of legal documents filed with the court and served on the Person Paying Support telling him or her of the lawsuit for parentage or child support.