KRS § 213.046 — KY Code / Title XVIII / Chapter 213 / Section 213.046
213.046 Registration of births required -- Establishment of paternity -- Duties of institution and cabinet -- Contents of birth certificate
Status: in_force

213.046 Registration of births required -- Establishment of paternity -- Duties of

institution and cabinet -- Contents of birth certificate.

(1) A certificate of birth for each live birth which occurs in the Commonwealth shall be

filed with the state registrar within five (5) working days after such birth and shall

be registered if it has been completed and filed in accordance with this section and

applicable administrative regulations. No certificate shall be held to be complete

and correct that does not supply all items of information called for in this section

and in KRS 213.051, or satisfactorily account for their omission except as provided

in KRS 199.570(3). If a certificate of birth is incomplete, the state registrar shall

immediately notify the responsible person and require that person to supply the

missing items, if that information can be obtained.

(2) When a birth occurs in a health facility or en route thereto, the person in charge of

the health facility or that person's designated representative, shall obtain the

personal data, prepare the certificate, secure the signatures required, and file the

certificate as directed in subsection (1) of this section or as otherwise directed by

the state registrar within the required five (5) working days. The physician,

midwife, or other person in attendance shall provide the medical information

required for the certificate and certify to the fact of birth within five (5) working

days after the birth. If the physician, midwife, or other person in attendance does

not certify to the fact of birth within the five (5) working day period, the person in

charge of the health facility shall complete and sign the certificate.

(3) When a birth occurs in a health facility or en route thereto to a woman who is

unmarried, the person in charge of the health facility or that person's designated

representative shall immediately before or after the birth of a child, except when the

mother or the alleged father is a minor:

(a) Meet with the mother prior to the release from the health facility;

(b) Attempt to ascertain whether the father of the child is available in the health

facility, and, if so, to meet with him, if possible;

(c) Provide written materials and oral, audio, or video materials about paternity;

(d) Provide the unmarried mother, and, if possible, the father, with the voluntary

paternity form necessary to voluntarily establish paternity;

(e) Provide a written and an oral, audio, or video description of the rights and

responsibilities, the alternatives to, and the legal consequences of

acknowledging paternity;

(f) Provide written materials and information concerning genetic paternity

testing;

(g) Provide an opportunity to speak by telephone or in person with staff who are

trained to clarify information and answer questions about paternity

establishment;

(h) If the parents wish to acknowledge paternity, require the voluntary

acknowledgment of paternity obtained through the health facility-based

program be signed by both parents and be authenticated by a notary public;

(i) Upon both the mother's and father's request, help the mother and father in

completing the affidavit of paternity form;

(j) Upon both the mother's and father's request, transmit the affidavit of paternity

to the state registrar; and

(k) In the event that the mother or the alleged father is a minor, information set

forth in this section shall be provided in accordance with Civil Rule 17.03 of

the Kentucky Rules of Civil Procedure.

If the mother or the alleged father is a minor, the paternity determination shall be

conducted pursuant to KRS Chapter 406.

(4) The voluntary acknowledgment of paternity and declaration of paternity forms

designated by the Vital Statistics Branch shall be the only documents having the

same weight and authority as a judgment of paternity.

(5) The Cabinet for Health and Family Services shall:

(a) Provide to all public and private health facilities offering obstetric or

midwifery services in the state written materials in accessible formats and

audio or video materials concerning paternity establishment forms necessary

to voluntarily acknowledge paternity;

(b) Provide copies of a written description in accessible formats and an audio or

video description of the rights and responsibilities of acknowledging

paternity; and

(c) Provide staff training, guidance, and written instructions regarding voluntary

acknowledgment of paternity as necessary to operate the health services-based

program.

(6) When a birth occurs outside a health facility, verification of the birth shall be in

accordance with the requirements of the state registrar and a birth certificate shall

be prepared and filed by one (1) of the following in the indicated order of priority:

(a) The health care provider in attendance at or immediately after the birth; or, in

the absence of such a person,

(b) A midwife or any other person in attendance at or immediately after the birth;

or, in the absence of such a person,

(c) The father, the mother, or in the absence of the father and the inability of the

mother, the person in charge of the premises where the birth occurred or of

the health facility to which the child was admitted following the birth.

(7) No physician, midwife, or other attendant shall refuse to sign or delay the filing of a

birth certificate.

(8) If a birth occurs on a moving conveyance within the United States and the child is

first removed from the conveyance in the Commonwealth, the birth shall be

registered in the Commonwealth, and the place where the child is first removed

shall be considered the place of birth. If a birth occurs on a moving conveyance

while in international waters or air space or in a foreign country or its air space and

the child is first removed from the conveyance in the Commonwealth, the birth

shall be registered in the Commonwealth, but the certificate shall show the actual

place of birth insofar as can be determined.

(9) The following provisions shall apply if the mother was married at the time of either

conception or birth or anytime between conception and birth:

(a) If there is no dispute as to paternity, the name of the husband shall be entered

on the certificate as the father of the child. The surname of the child shall be

any name chosen by the parents; however, if the parents are separated or

divorced at the time of the child's birth, the choice of surname rests with the

parent who has legal custody following birth;

(b) If the mother claims that the father of the child is not her husband and the

husband agrees to such a claim and the putative father agrees to the statement,

a three (3) way affidavit of paternity may be signed by the respective parties

and duly notarized. The state registrar of vital statistics shall enter the name of

a nonhusband on the birth certificate as the father and the surname of the child

shall be any name chosen by the mother; and

(c) If a question of paternity determination arises which is not resolved under

paragraph (b) of this subsection, it shall be settled by the District Court.

(10) The following provisions shall apply if the mother was not married at the time of

either conception or birth or between conception and birth or the marital

relationship between the mother and her husband has been interrupted for more than

ten (10) months prior to the birth of the child:

(a) The name of the father shall not be entered on the certificate of birth. The

state registrar shall upon acknowledgment of paternity by the father and with

consent of the mother pursuant to KRS 213.121, enter the father's name on the

certificate. The surname of the child shall be any name chosen by the mother

and father. If there is no agreement, the child's surname shall be determined

by the parent with legal custody of the child;

(b) If an affidavit of paternity has been properly completed and the certificate of

birth has been filed accordingly, any further modification of the birth

certificate regarding the paternity of the child shall require an order from the

District Court;

(c) In any case in which paternity of a child is determined by a court order, the

name of the father and surname of the child shall be entered on the certificate

of birth in accordance with the finding and order of the court; and

(d) In all other cases, the surname of the child shall be any name chosen by the

mother.

(11) If the father is not named on the certificate of birth, no other information about the

father shall be entered on the certificate. In all cases, the maiden name of the

gestational mother shall be entered on the certificate.

(12) Any child whose surname was restricted prior to July 13, 1990, shall be entitled to

apply to the state registrar for an amendment of a birth certificate showing as the

surname of the child, any surname chosen by the mother or parents as provided

under this section.

(13) The birth certificate of a child born as a result of artificial insemination shall be

completed in accordance with the provisions of this section.

(14) Each birth certificate filed under this section shall include all Social Security

numbers that have been issued to the parents of the child.

(15) Either of the parents of the child, or other informant, shall attest to the accuracy of

the personal data entered on the certificate in time to permit the filing of the

certificate within five (5) days prescribed in subsection (1) of this section.

(16) When a birth certificate is filed for any birth that occurred outside a health facility,

the Cabinet for Health and Family Services shall forward information regarding the

need for an auditory screening for an infant and a list of options available for

obtaining an auditory screening for an infant. The list shall include the Office for

Children with Special Health Care Needs, local health departments as established in

KRS Chapter 212, health facilities offering obstetric or midwifery services,

audiological assessment and diagnostic centers approved by the Office for Children

with Special Health Care Needs in accordance with KRS 211.647 and licensed

audiologists, and shall specify the hearing methods approved by the Office for

Children with Special Health Care Needs in accordance with KRS 216.2970.

(17) As used in this section, "health facility" has the same meaning as in KRS 216B.015.