Georgia CommonsHouse · Introduced · 2025-2026 Regular Session
HB 1343: Georgia's Responsible Fathers Act; enact
Last action February 18, 2026 · House Second Readers
House Bill 1343 would let a biological father of a child born out of wedlock legitimate that child through a new administrative process at the Department of Human Services, using genetic testing instead of only going through court.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Introduced version, the latest the General Assembly's website lists.
In plain language
Under current Georgia law, a father of a child born out of wedlock generally must petition a court to be legally recognized as the child's father (called legitimation) before he can seek custody, visitation, or inheritance rights. This bill, called Georgia's Responsible Fathers Act, creates an additional path: within six months of a child's birth, the biological father can submit to genetic testing and petition the Department of Human Services directly for a legitimation order, which the department must decide within two months. The department can only grant the petition if the father has no family violence or certain criminal convictions, is not under a protective order, did not conceive the child through nonconsensual sex or with a mother under 14, and there is no other legal father. Once granted, the order is filed with the clerk of superior court, and the father and child can inherit from each other. The bill also requires hospitals and birthing centers to show new parents a legitimation education video and give them a pamphlet, and lets a birth certificate note that a father has begun genetic testing.
What the bill does
- Creates a new administrative legitimation process (O.C.G.A. § 19-7-22.1) letting a biological father petition the Department of Human Services for legitimation based on genetic testing, instead of only going through court.
- Requires the Department of Human Services to decide a legitimation petition within two months and sets conditions that can block approval, such as family violence convictions or a protective order.
- Updates the legal definition of 'legal father' in the juvenile code, domestic relations law, and child support law to include fathers legitimated or determined through this new process.
- Requires licensed general hospitals and birthing centers to show a legitimation education video and give a pamphlet to new parents before discharge.
- Allows a birth certificate to note that a putative father has submitted to genetic testing to establish paternity of a child born out of wedlock.
- Extends inheritance rights (O.C.G.A. § 53-2-3) so a child legitimated through the new Department of Human Services process can inherit as if born in marriage.
Who it affects
Unmarried biological fathers seeking legal recognition, mothers and children born out of wedlock, the Department of Human Services, hospitals and birthing centers, county clerks of superior court, and courts that currently handle legitimation and paternity cases.
Why it matters
Fathers who are not married to a child's mother could gain legal rights, such as inheritance and grounds to seek custody or visitation, through a faster administrative process rather than a court case. Hospitals would take on a new duty to inform parents about this option, and safeguards would screen out fathers with violent histories or nonconsensual conception.
Key provisions
- Section 1 names the bill Georgia's Responsible Fathers Act.
- Sections 2, 3, 6, and 9 update the definition of 'legal father' across the juvenile code, domestic relations law, and inheritance law to include the new administrative legitimation route and paternity orders under Article 3 of Chapter 7 of Title 19.
- Section 4 creates O.C.G.A. § 19-7-22.1, letting a biological father petition the Department of Human Services within six months of birth for legitimation based on genetic testing, with a decision required within two months.
- Section 4 bars approval if the father has family violence or related criminal convictions, is under a protective order, conceived the child through nonconsensual sex or with a mother under 14, or if another legal father already exists.
- Section 4 requires the department to file granted legitimation orders with the clerk of superior court and states that a legitimated child and biological father may inherit from each other.
- Section 7 requires hospitals and birthing centers to show new parents a legitimation education video and provide a pamphlet developed by the Department of Human Services before discharge.
- Section 8 allows a putative father to indicate on a birth certificate that he has submitted to genetic testing to establish paternity.
- Section 9 adds the new Code section as a basis for a child to inherit as if born in lawful wedlock under Georgia's estate law.
From the bill
“Within six months of a child's birth, the biological father of a child born out of wedlock may:”
“If a legitimation petition is granted under this Code section, the biological father and child shall be capable of inheriting from each other in the same manner as if such child were born in lawful wedlock.”
“The biological father caused his child to be conceived as a result of having nonconsensual sexual intercourse with the mother of his child or when the mother is less than 14 years of age”
Discussed in meetings (3)
The House and Senate meetings that took this bill up, from their machine transcripts. Each account was written by Georgia Commons with AI and is not part of the record; the video is what was said.
House Judiciary Committee, March 2, 2026
From 3:59:15 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 1343 followed a study of the cost and accessibility of establishing unmarried fathers’ legal status. The sponsor cited about 125,000 annual Georgia births, with 46% outside marriage, and said roughly 10% or fewer involved a legitimation petition. The sponsor proposed standardized forms and hospital educational materials, plus an uncontested process requiring both parents’ agreement, notarized documents and DNA confirmation, with expedited review within two months. Two substitutes differed over whether the Department of Human Services or superior court would grant that status. The sponsor said the process would not automatically award custody or visitation, and parents seeking those rights would still need court proceedings. Members asked about the versions, child support enforcement and Georgia’s previously repealed administrative process. A witness for Equally Present Inc. argued that legal parent status should follow established paternity without a separate legitimation step. The witness said the proposal could add delay because fathers would still need court proceedings for custody, and questioned differing definitions of legal father across areas of law. The chair ended the meeting without a vote and said discussion would resume the next morning.
House Judiciary Committee, March 5, 2026
From 1:04:54 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor presented a revised substitute offering an expedited superior-court process for unmarried fathers to establish legal fatherhood when both parents agree and submit DNA results, alongside statewide forms and education. The sponsor said contested procedures would remain available. The sponsor said about 46% of Georgia's approximately 125,000 annual births occur outside marriage and many parents do not understand the process. A Fathers, Inc. witness supported reform but requested clearer notice, dispute procedures, eligibility and safety protections. An Equally Present witness argued that established paternity should give fathers legal rights without another step. A Georgia Council of Adoption Lawyers witness recommended consistent definitions across courts, filing provisions for out-of-state mothers, clearer custody language, adoption cross-references and removal of birth-certificate testing notations. Members questioned assisted-reproduction definitions and whether the process meaningfully simplifies existing law. A Barton Law and Policy Center witness said other states combine paternity with legal parenthood and none require DNA testing, while noting the witness had not reviewed the latest substitute. A legislator read a constituent's request for easier access. The sponsor defended an incremental approach. No further amendments were adopted. After a recess, the chair announced a loss of quorum, leaving the bill in committee without action.
Status timeline
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Carter Barrett (R, HD-24)
- Tremaine Teddy Reese (D, HD-140)
- Jon Burns (R, HD-159)
- Carolyn Hugley (D, HD-141)
- Stan Gunter (R, HD-8)
- Vance Smith (R, HD-138)
Topics
- paternity and legitimation
- child custody and visitation
- birth certificates
- family law
- fathers rights