Tap any paragraph to write a margin note. Your notes collect in the Desk below the text and file under cases with @. The side-by-side margin rail opens on a larger screen.

Code · Kentucky · Kentucky Revised Statutes

199.503 Putative father registry -- Administrative regulations -- Registration --

838 words·~4 min read·/ky/199-503

A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

Notification of opportunity to register -- Data storage -- Certified copy of
registration form -- Confidentiality -- Information on Web site.
(1)The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky hereby finds and
declares that the purpose of the putative father registry established pursuant to this
section is to determine the name and address of a father whose name and address
have not been disclosed by the mother of the child, on or before the date the mother
executes a consent to the child's adoption to an attorney or an agency that is
arranging the adoption of the child, and who may have conceived a child for whom
a petition for adoption has been or may be filed so that notice of the adoption may
be provided to the putative father.
(2)As used in this section, "putative father" means a male who may be a child's father,
but who:
(a)Is not married to the child's mother on or before the date that the child is born;
(b)Has not established paternity of the child in a court or agency proceeding in
this or another state before the filing of a petition for adoption of the child; or
(c)Has not completed an acknowledgment of paternity affidavit before the filing
of a petition for adoption of the child.
(3)The cabinet shall establish a putative father registry and promulgate administrative
regulations to administer the registry in accordance with this section.
(a)A putative father may register with the putative father registry by providing
the following information to the cabinet:
1. The putative father's name, date of birth, place of birth, place of
residence, and an address at which he may be served with notice of the
filing of a petition for adoption;
2. The mother's name, date of birth, place of birth, place of residence, and
mailing address, if known; and
3. Any other information described in subsection
(5)of this section that is
known to the putative father.
(b)A putative father who registers under this section is responsible for:
1. Verifying with the cabinet the accuracy of the registration; and
2. Submitting to the cabinet an amended registration each time the
information supplied by the putative father changes.
(c)A putative father who has registered pursuant to this section may revoke a
registration at any time.
(5)The cabinet shall maintain the following information in the putative father registry:
(a)The putative father's name, date of birth, place of birth, place of residence, and
an address at which he may be served with notice of the filing of a petition for
adoption;
(b)The mother's name, date of birth, place of birth, place of residence, and
mailing address, if known;
(c)The child's name, date of birth, and place of birth, if known;
(d)The date that the cabinet receives a putative father's registration;
(e)The name of any attorney or agency that requests the cabinet to search the
registry pursuant to KRS 199.505 and the date of the request; and
(f)Any other information that the cabinet determines is necessary to access the
information in the registry.
(6)If a child's mother provides the name of a potential putative father and his place of
residence and mailing address, if known, to the cabinet, the cabinet shall, to the best
of its ability, notify the potential putative father to inform him of his opportunity to
register with the putative father registry.
(7)The cabinet shall store the registry's data so that it is accessible under the following:
(a)The putative father's name;
(b)The mother's name; or
(c)The child's name.
(8)Subject to subsection
(9)of this section, the cabinet shall furnish a certified copy of
a putative father's registration form upon written request by:
(a)A putative father;
(b)A mother;
(c)A child;
(d)Any party or attorney of record in a pending adoption;
(e)An attorney who represents:
1. Prospective adoptive parents;
2. Petitioners in an adoption;
3. A mother;
4. A putative father; or
5. A child-placing agency;
(f)A licensed child-placing agency that represents:
1. Prospective adoptive parents;
2. Petitioners in an adoption;
3. A mother; or
4. A putative father; or
(g)A court that presides over a pending adoption.
(9)The cabinet may release the certified copy of the registration form to a person under
subsection (8)(a) to
(c)of this section only if the information contained in the
registration form names the requesting person.
(10)A person who makes a request pursuant to this section shall state that the requesting
person is entitled to receive the information under this section. The cabinet may
charge a fee of twenty-five dollars ($25) to a person who makes a request under this
section. The fee established by this subsection shall not apply to a court.
(11)Except as otherwise provided in this section and KRS 199.505, information
contained within the registry is confidential.
(12)The cabinet shall publish information regarding the putative father registry on its
Web site.
★   the supreme law of the land   ★
Don't Tread on Me
E Pluribus Unum — out of many, one

"If you don't know your rights, you don't have any."

Marginalia · a citizen's law index
A research desk, not legal advice. Always read the cited source before relying on a summary.
Questions or an issue? support@self-law.org
disclaimerMarginalia is a research index, not a law firm. Nothing on this site is legal, tax, or financial advice and no attorney–client relationship is formed by using it. Statutes, regulations, and case law change; summaries, search results, AI output, and member posts may be incomplete, out of date, or wrong. Any interpretation drawn from material on this site should be validated by a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction before you act on it.