Department of Health and Human Services Seeks Three-Year Extension for Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity Information Collection

On November 4, 2026, the Administration for Children and Families within the Department of Health and Human Services published a notice in the Federal Register regarding a proposed information collection extension. The Office of Child Support Enforcement is seeking a three-year renewal for the Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity and Required Data Elements for Paternity Establishment Affidavits under OMB number 0970-0171. Public comments on the request are open until December 4, 2026.

Statutory Background and Requirements

The collection stems from Section 466(a)(5)(C) of the Social Security Act. This provision mandates that states enact laws establishing a simplified civil process for individuals to voluntarily acknowledge paternity through an affidavit. Federal law requires that these affidavits incorporate minimum standards set by the Secretary of Health and Human Services under Section 452(a)(7) of the statute. Furthermore, states must grant full faith and credit to an affidavit executed in any other state in accordance with that state's specific procedures.

Before executing a voluntary acknowledgment, parents must receive comprehensive oral or video notice alongside written disclosures. These notifications inform the mother and putative father of the legal consequences, alternative options, and the specific rights and responsibilities associated with acknowledging paternity. This includes special protections or considerations applicable if one of the parents is a minor. Hospitals, birth record agencies, and state and tribal entities participating in Title IV-D child support programs utilize these affidavits to collect necessary data for nonmarital children.

Administrative Adjustments and Burden Reduction

The primary development in the current notice involves adjustments to the annual burden estimates rather than any substantive policy or data alterations. The Office of Child Support Enforcement removed the task of ordering physical brochures from the annual burden calculation because ordering printed materials is not a mandatory federal requirement.

With ongoing advancements in digital service delivery and process automation, participating facilities increasingly utilize electronic devices located in hospitals and public-facing platforms. These digital tools provide mandatory educational content on paternity establishment and outline the legal benefits of signing the affidavit. These technological improvements yielded a forty percent overall decrease in estimated annual burden hours compared to the 2024 estimates.

The agency calculates the updated annual burden across three primary instruments. Training activities account for 135,155 respondents with an average burden of one hour per response. The Paternity Acknowledgment Process involves 1,372,816 respondents with an estimated response time of approximately ten minutes. Finally, Data Elements cover 54 respondents with an annual burden of one hour per response. This brings the total estimated annual burden hours to 368,588.

Implications and Outlook

The proposed extension highlights the federal government's continued reliance on standardized administrative processes for child support enforcement and vital statistics collection. By streamlining information gathering through digital infrastructure, the Administration for Children and Families reduces operational friction for state agencies and healthcare providers while maintaining statutory compliance. Stakeholders and members of the public have until December 4, 2026, to submit formal comments on the renewal request through the designated federal portal.