Florida
- The form
- The agency's own form and instructions were read, not just the statute. The form governs what the office will accept, and it can require more than the statute says: Arizona's statute never mentions a notary, and its form requires one.
- Read on October 5, 2026:
- The law
- The statute was read on a government website during the current verification pass.
- How this page was checked
- statute read on flsenate.gov (2026 text, word for word the same as 2024 and 2025); form DH 1965 (07/2012) and the registry page read on floridahealth.gov; the printing of DH 1965 adopted by rule 64V-1.016 read on flrules.org. The form is where the mailing address, the payee, the P.O. box rule and the written confirmation come from; the statute says only that the fee is "nominal".
Florida Putative Father Registry
Florida Department of Health, Office of Vital Statistics
The Office of Vital Statistics notifies the registrant in writing once it receives the claim of paternity.
What Florida requires
File a notarized claim of paternity, form DH 1965, with the Florida Putative Father Registry
Required by statute- What the statute requires
- The claim may be filed at any time before the child's birth, but may not be filed after the date a petition is filed for termination of parental rights. Where the child is 6 months old or younger when placed with the adoptive parents, it must also be filed before the mother executes her consent. The time limit does not apply if the mother named him to the adoption entity as a potential father by the time she consented and he was then served a notice of intended adoption plan whose 30-day response date falls after the termination petition was filed.
- Fla. Stat. 63.054(1), (1)(a); 63.062(2)(b)
- When it counts as filed
- It counts once the office enters it in the registry, not when it is mailed.
- Notarization
- Required
- The state's own form
- DH 1965, Florida Putative Father Registry Claim of Paternity (07/2012)
- Fee
- $9
- Check or money order payable to Vital Statistics, in U.S. dollars. No cash. The fee is non-refundable, and the state adds a $15 charge for a dishonored check.
- Where it goes
By mail
Vital StatisticsP.O. Box 210Jacksonville, FL 32231-0042Certified mail with a return receipt is not required, but it gives the sender a dated record that the envelope arrived.
- What the form itself requires
- The form must be signed under oath, before a notary.
- The address given for notice of a pending adoption cannot be a post office box.
- Every item in Part 1 about the father is required; none may be left blank.
- An agent or representative named to receive notice must sign the acceptance of designation on the form.
This deadline is tied to an event a father generally cannot see (the mother's consent, the child's placement with adoptive parents, or a court petition to end parental rights). There is no countdown to show. The statute rewards filing as early as possible, including before the birth where the state allows it.
Offer and pay a fair and reasonable amount of the pregnancy and birth expenses, and keep a record of each offer and payment
Required by statute- What the statute requires
- Where the child is 6 months old or younger when placed with the adoptive parents, a father who knew of the pregnancy must have paid a fair and reasonable amount of the expenses of the pregnancy and birth before the mother executes her consent.
- Fla. Stat. 63.062(2)(b)3
- Notarization
- Not required
This deadline is tied to an event a father generally cannot see (the mother's consent, the child's placement with adoptive parents, or a court petition to end parental rights). There is no countdown to show. The statute rewards filing as early as possible, including before the birth where the state allows it.
Who gets notice of an adoption
A father who filed a claim of paternity before the mother's consent. A father who does not meet each statutory condition is deemed to have waived and surrendered any rights in relation to the child, including the right to notice of any judicial proceeding.
What filing does, under this state's law
- Filing consents to genetic testing, at the filer's own expense.
- Filing bears on an adoption only. It does not stop another man from signing an acknowledgment of paternity.
The state's own page
Sources
This page states what the law and the state agency say. It is not legal advice about any particular situation and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. See which states could decide a case.