Make the responsible choice The by registering! Responsible Father Registry

Registering is the first step for A Voice for Putative Fathers a putative father to seize the opportunity to assert his rights to a child that he may have fathered.

Protect your rights as a father! Important Notice: After a father registers with the Responsible Father Registry, Registering with Responsible he must notify the Registry of address changes. If he does Father Registry does not incur not notify the Registry of his Child Support obligations. change of address, the father loses his right to receive notice There is no cost for putative through the Responsible fathers to register. Father Registry.

If you do not register, your children could be adopted Responsible Father Registry without notice to you. PO Box 1520 Columbia, SC 29202 Protect your Rights A person can only (803) 898-7460 place his own name on (803) 898-7641 fax as a Father the Registry. https://ssl.sc.gov/DSSFatherRegistry/ FatherReg/RegIndex.aspx

DSS Brochure 37571 (APR 21) What is a putative father? What are the consequences of not registering? • a person who is recorded on the child’s birth certificate as the child’s father; A man who has fathered a child with a woman he If a putative father does not register, he may lose his is not married to. right to object to termination of his rights or to the • a person who is openly living with the child adoption of his child. or the child’s mother, or both, at the time What is the Responsible Father Registry? the proceeding is initiated and who is holding Will the Registry be used to enforce child himself out to be the child’s father; The Responsible Father Registry gives a man who support? has fathered a child with a woman he is not married • a person who has been identified as the to the right to be notified when an adoption or a The Registry is not used to enforce child support child’s father by the mother in a sworn, termination of parental rights action occurs. payments. written statement; and A putative father may register before or after the birth of the child. A registration is not valid if it is What are the rights of a putative father? Even if he does not register, a man whom the family court finds to be mentally incapable of filed after a complaint for termination of parental By registering as a putative father, a father ensures giving consent or relinquishment, for the purpose rights or adoption is filed in court. his rights to receive notice of court actions for term- of adoption, has not waived his right to notice of ination of his parental rights for a child. Who can register? adoption proceedings. Putative fathers who have questions and want to If you are not sure whether you fit in one of Any man who thinks he is the father of a child by know about their legal rights should contact their these categories, register! a woman he is not married to may register. attorney for advice.

Is there a fee to register? Must all putative fathers register to protect their rights? There is no fee associated with registering. Even if they do not register, the unmarried biological How can I register? Why register? fathers described below have not waived their Fathers may register online at: right to notice of adoption proceedings or to notice The Registry is checked by attorneys when they of termination of parental rights proceedings: https://ssl.sc.gov/DSSFatherRegistry/ file adoptions and termination of parental rights FatherReg/RegIndex.aspx cases. By registering, the putative father gains the • a person adjudicated by a court in South Carolina or by sending an application by mail right to receive notice of these court proceedings. to be the father of the child;