I have applied for tanf and they didn’t mention anything about the father not being on the birth certificate. They just told me in order to keep the process going I would have to basically contact another office & go after my daughters dad for child support even if you’re different states. I didn’t proceed but that’s what I was told after I tried to apply for tanf
Help a mama out and respond anonymously on our forum. Should I put the child's father on the birth certificate?
If you put him on they do try to get u to take him to court for Child support
I know my state won’t help out if the fathers name is not on it. I don’t know if there is away around it, from my cousin she had to go after child support in order to get it.
I mean if he is the dad he deserves to be on the birth certificate. This is a life long document that is not easy to change. This is not just about getting benefits for a child but a child deserving to have the father on their birth certificate
If you don’t you have to get a DNA test before they’ll ever give u child support.
I believe he has to sign the bc anyway 
You can’t just put him on there. He has to sign paternity acknowledgement paperwork.
In my state you have to name the father in order to receive benefits. If you’re unsure they ask you to name all potential fathers so that dna testing can be done.
He will, and should have to pay. If you made a baby with a man, it’s his job to support that baby…not the taxpayers
Yes. Every child deserves to know who their Dad is weather you like it or not
Depends on the state. In PA, you can get different assistance like WIC, food stamps, health insurance except cash the father must pay support.
In my state you cannot get any sate assistance if he is unidentified. So not on certificate, you would need dna (own expense) to prove he is the father to get any assistance. If on certificate and he doesn’t think he is, he would need dna to prove he is not to get off certificate
Wait, you are choosing government aid, over a father for your child ?!
He should be paying child support. Go after him before state benefits
If you want child support yes if you dont… No.
Not the fan favorite answer… but… I’ve known many ppl to lie and say that they don’t know who the father is (that they had a one night stand and don’t remember)so they can get all the help they need
Someone, I love, dad was not put on the birth certificate. He was abusive. He caused the mother to have to leave her home (paid off) to be safe. She had to go into the hospital as a Jane Doe so he couldn’t find her. He died of a drug overdose in his mid 40s & his other children 2 of them got $33 a month in social security. He owed his ex (other kids mom) almost 100 thousand in CS. He was a user, an abuser, and he may have had great potential at one point, but the best thing that could have been done for that child was to keep him away from them. He was a monster.
In NC I get EBT and my child’s father is only on one of his kids birth certificates because he couldn’t find his ID to sign for the other one. I got wic when they were little too
From experience don’t put the child’s father on the birth certificate. Everyone is different. I added my child’s father to our sons birth certificate going into our son’s 4th grade year. Once the father is on the birth certificate there is no undoing it. I regret it til this day and our (my) son does too. The father is an absent parent in all areas of life. I don’t have him on child support the state went after him since he has been dead beat dad with his first wife’s two children. I chose to have my son out of wedlock per my attorney’s advice and until the father signs over his rights, I’m stuck with the repercussions of adding him to the birth certificate.
If he won’t be around DON’T put him on it! (You can’t unless he signs anyway but unless he will be active in the child’s life don’t even give him the option.) It does not effect getting government assistance whatsoever. Once they establish paternity he can choose to pay and have his name added if he wants but if he doesn’t it stays blank and has absolutely no effect on them ordering child support or approving you for assistance.
He actually has to sign the paper to be put on the birth certificate. If u sign up for Cash assistance they make you sign up for child support first.child support will do a DNA test .
I did not put my son’s father on the birth certificate, as he has denied his son and I do not want money from someone that denies the existence of his own blood.
Honestly if you are wanting money from him you should be listing him as the father. A lot of women want child support but don’t want the biological father listed for whatever reason that I do not understand. If his money is good enough, so is listing him as the dad.
If you are not wanting child support but are just looking for other benefits, it should not matter if he is on the birth certificate as your income and marital status (single i assume) should suffice. you can have a father on the birth certificate and still be a single mother. however if he is involved in your child’s life i would put him on the birth records.
good luck
In Florida you can’t just put him on the birth certificate, he must sign it as well.
they wouldn’t let my boyfriend sign the birth certificate because we aren’t legally married.
If y’all together and live together you won’t get it regardless if he’s on it lol. I wouldn’t lie either
They denied me because they wanted me to go after father for child support & i told them i didnt know who it was & they denied me.
If you know who the father is
You’ll be accepted either way if y’all aren’t married and you meet the qualifications. But they will make him pay it all back if he’s on the birth certificate.
Pretty sure it depends on the state……they all have different guidelines….the last state I lived in you had to provide the fathers name if you wanted to get the help….they go after the father on your behalf and they can make him pay back for some of the benefits you get
Yes Children have a right to know who they are and that includes their parentage.
Soooo … are you asking if you should lie in order to commit welfare fraud?! I’m going to go with no. Definitely not a good idea.
Depends on your state. In my state they will go after the father to establish paternity and once father is found they’ll go after him for support. If you don’t cooperate, no cash benefits.
My sons father isn’t on his birth certificate. But he did have to do paternity in order for me to get child support
Get a job and quit trying to find ways to out smart/FRAUD the system that ushardworking individuals are footing the bill for! SMMFH!
I have 5 kids. My 3 older ones have the dad on their birth certificate my youngest 2 do not. He still pays child support for the older ones even tho he doesn’t see them. My youngest dad we are together but he’s not on the birth certificate. I still get EBT and medicaid for them
In Tennessee, there has to be one because he has to pay child support to the state to pay the state back for paying you
Ugh no. They’ll make you apply for child support and proof of paternity. So it’s actually complicating an inevitable process if that’s what you want.
Either is fine, Do an affidavit saying he gives you money every month & they won’t put him on child support .
Doesn’t matter. It’s based off your home income. Not a birth certificate being signed
If you’re doing it to avoid having to go to court for child support you can not put him on the BC and when you go apply you can tell them that he gives you money voluntarily.
They never asked me for a birth certificate
Depends on the state. I tried filing as single mother doesn’t matter if father was on certificate or not they were still going to go after him first for child support. I gave up and was lucky enough to get food stamps at the time the $ would only cover very basic things that wasn’t worth the fight
They will just do a DNA test if he ain’t on the birth certificate
I wouldn’t base your decision on this. None of us really know your circumstances so it’s hard to say, best advice I can give is not to base your decision on it. Also don’t forget to apply for WIC if you haven’t yet. All is based on household income. We wouldn’t ask to see if the dad is on the birth certificate. Child support would be a different story.
I know someone on probation for fraud from this. Be smart
You are going to have to establish paternity to get tanf so if u don’t put him on then they’ll make u all go do dna tests so I would to save u having to do all of that.
My sons sperm donor isn’t on his birth certificate, and I still don’t qualify for TANF.
It doesn’t matter if he’s in the picture or not, it’s based off your household income.
Good luck if you make more then $435/month. 
Some of these comments are ignorant as hell. Yall do NOT know this woman’s full backstory to be passing judgement and assuming shit.
There will have to be a DNA test done in order to prove that the father is the father. If he signs the birth certificate and then you get the families first and he goes against you paternity has to be established either way…
Make HIM responsible for his child if at ALL POSSIBLE. My kids dad couldnt make it to 1st B cert so hes not on our 1st sons B cert. We added him later. He STILL gets away with cheating his CS but i do what i can to find him. He shouldnt get out of his paternal responsibility
In my state in order to receive cash assistance you had to file a child support claim. Other benefits like insurance and food stamps it didn’t matter. And for everyone so judgy about whether you are working or not… you can have a job and still receive benefits. It’s supposed to be assistance not your only support
It doesn’t matter. But if your living with the father you need to add him to the case or they can go after you for fraud and make you pay the money back that you were overpaid in food stamps and cash
So we’re really ignoring dad’s having legal say for $ now?
Really? 
So u don’t want 2 put dad on the birth certificate so u can get benefits? 
what this world coming to?!
No you don’t have too, my baby daddy is not on my sons but I gave my son his last name, you need to put him on child support ASAP
You can put him on it. If you are applying for food stamps and Medicaid, they won’t go after him they will for tanf. I wish I would have proceeded with tanf and let the state deal with him.
Why on earth would you not want him in the birth certificate ?
Birth certificate has nothing to do with you being accepted or denied for benefits. It’s all based on your income.
They make you establish paternity for assistance or they won’t give you any. They also ask for custody agreement you should be careful withholding rights from the dad can get him full custody real quick. I’ve dealt with family court in nevada and California its not good. You better have a good reason for your actions. Even if he’s a bad boyfriend the court will decide if he’s a bad dad and you will have zero say in it.
Thought ya had no other choice? Its his child regardless if he helps or not. When the child gets old enough they gonna ask questions period!!! Even if they dont help at least they do deserve to be om it simply because they are the childs father regardless if you like it or not!
On the birth certificate or not they will still ask you to name their father and cooperate with child support.
Please start saying who your child’s father is…
What happens if you all are doing well in your relationship and you died? If he’s not on the birth certificate, that’s going to cause a big mess with your kid possibly being in foster care while paternity is established. He doesn’t just get the kid because he lives with you, or because he said he’s the dad.
I’d definitely add some context clues in this 
My first two were born in Tennesee and Virginia in 2013 and 2014 and their father (we were married) didn’t have to sign a birth certificate paper or anything to be on their birth certificates and for a brief time after we separated (but were still married) I got tanf in Virginia. All I had to do was give them his last known address. Now my third baby was born in Tennessee also but in 2020. They’re on top of shit now! Her father signed papers when she was born and her birth certificate came with three pages attached to it in the event we ever split up and I need assistance they don’t have to prove paternity or anything. He waived any right to EVER dispute it. So he can’t change his mind out of spite. But long story short - I know any money is better than no money but the hassle it sounds like you may have to go through might not be worth it in the long run.
They’re gonna find him anyway. My county found out who he was on Facebook, and I didn’t even have him on my Facebook. I told them I didn’t even know who the dad was.
Depends state to state is different. From personal experience I had the father be on the birth certificate for my first 3 kids and although it didn’t give him immediate rights it helped him take me to court when I moved back home to a different state and he took my son etc different story but with tanf they ask who the father is and does he pay child support if you say yes they ask what amount if you say no you sign permission for dfcs to go through child support services mandatory on your behalf. Whether he’s on the birth certificate or not. And that’s ga and sc
He doesn’t need to be on the birth certificate but they will all you for his information so they can get him for child support. In the state of ky you can’t just write his name on the birth certificate. He needs to be there and fill out a paternity affidavit.
If I could do it again as a single mom having a baby. He would have to work for it to get his name put on the BC.
16k in back child support owed and comes and goes as he pleases.
Id rather have no stress than this mess.
If he is the father put him on the damn certificate. Unless you had a really really good reason not to do so. These questions annoy tf out of me 
Please put his name on the birth certificate.
I didn’t put my child’s father on the birth certificate and they didn’t go after him for anything ever nor did they ask me to list him, I just left it blank
Don’t have to put father on but they will still hunt him down for child support either way and force a paternity
You will have to provide the father’s name in order to get assistance. So it doesn’t matter either way. If this guy wants and is going to be in the child’s life then yes put him on the birth certificate. After all you did not get pregnant by yourself. Good luck and God bless.
Lol, you will need to provide the fathers info, regardless of what the birth certificate reads. Not putting him on the birth certificate will prolong the process of getting your child the things he needs as they will need to get the court order for paternity and all that, meaning they will be tracing the dad down and suing him to get him in to establish paternity and child support. Put him on the birth certificate so your kid can get what’s rightfully his and stop trying to milk the system. You know why your asking this question, we all do….lmao
You have to list him on the birth certificate in order to receive it and file for child support
To be clear, the requirement to cooperate with child support for cash and medical is a federal law. Unless you have a valid reason (like domestic violence) you have to cooperate or you get no benefits. Even with a valid reason they may still pursue child support and just hide your information.
I think the baby deserves his dad on his birth certificate. Rather than the assistance LOL 
Depends. In GA, putting a man on the birth certificate only gives the child his last name. Nothing else.
When I applied for benefits, they never asked anything about him unless I put child support or something like that.
State will go after him for child support unless you are living together and both qualify
If you are only doing it for the money than your 
If you apply for TANF/welfare they automatically go after the father . . My mijas dad is on the birth certificate , when she was born I was on TANF for 3 months and they went after him . . In other words , putting him on the birth certificate won’t make a difference in you receiving assistance . .
So did you only have a child for the benefits??
South Dakota you can’t get food stamps with out him being on support
I say no but then again depends on the situation. My aunt’s bf left her while she was pregnant. She put him on the certificate. He legally kidnapped their son (my cousin) when he was 4. It took my aunt 2 years to get my cousin back. My aunt’s story is literally why my mom didn’t put my dad’s name on my certificate. But like I said just depends on the situation. If you are worried about government aid it won’t effect your eligibility.
Why would you not want your child’s father on their birth certificate
In Pa for food stamps or medical the father does not have anything to do with it only if you apply for cash assistance then they make you file for child support first. I did not add my sons father on his birth certificate cuz I didn’t want support I wanted nothing stating he was his father. He doesn’t deserve that role (I gave him many chances to earn it) but when I did qualify for foodstamps and medical for him I had no issues on getting it.
Depends on the state your in. Most states say if your not married then he has to show proof that he plans on helping with the baby and has to sign the birth certificate and show a affidavit
Depends on your state, but when I added my bf (father of my child, man I call my husband) it effected the whole case of assistance, food stamps etc. (I need the assistance as I am disabled due to multiple autoimmune disorders, chronic illnesses, and my health declining horrifically after having my son due to infections and surgeries.)
If you aren’t with the man and don’t want him in your sons life then I wouldn’t put him down.
Put that babies father on the damm birth certificate…godamm…
The only reason I wouldn’t put baby daddy on birth Certificate is if he is a peice of shit and not in the child’s life. Other than that I would absolutely put him on their.
Your child deserves to have their father’s name on their birth certificate. Nobody wants to think they came from nobody
He’s going to child support regardless. You have to provide a name or multiple names they’ll pull DNA to establish paternity. Only people that get off are children of inmates on like death row or people locked up for life. In California.
For gods sake
The father has a right too
U didn’t make this baby alone
Lots of fathers are dying to be in there kids lives
Smdh
Your child has the right to have both names on the certificate even if you ain’t together
I think every baby deserves their father on birth certificate…unless he’s a danger x
If he is the child’s father put his on the birth certificate. In Reality one has nothing to do with the other… and most people don’t determine paternity based of their government benefit eligibility. Smh.
The kid has a father put him on the Bc and have him be a damn parent… and pay for his kid.
Tell me you had a baby for government handouts without telling me you had a baby for government handouts. Wow.
In the UK it makes no difference u still get support from what am reading looks like different states have different rules interesting to.read but a bit confusing xx