The
Minnesota Voluntary Recognition of Parentage is a document that establishes a legal relationship between a man and a child when the man is not married to the child's mother. Signing a Recognition of Parentage is an easy and inexpensive alternative to getting a court order establishing the legal father.
Both parents must sign this form to make the man the child's legal father. The completed form must be filed with the Office of Vital Records at the Minnesota Department of Health, or it is not valid. The Office of Vital Records will then put the biological father's name on the child's birth record.
For more information, including advantages and disadvantages of signing a Recognition of Parentage, go to the Minnesota Department of Human Services website.