HB1343: HB1343 Georgia's Responsible Fathers Act; enact

Under current Georgia law, a father of a child born outside marriage generally must go to court to be recognized as the child's 'legal father' with rights to custody, visitation, or inheritance. This bill, called Georgia's Responsible Fathers Act, creates a faster administrative path: within six months of a child's birth, a biological father can submit to genetic testing and petition the Department of Human Services (DHS) directly for legitimation, rather than filing a court case. DHS must grant the petition if paternity is confirmed and the father has no family violence convictions or protective orders against him, unless the child was conceived through nonconsensual sex, the mother was under 14, or someone else is already the legal father. Approved legitimations get filed with the clerk of superior court. The bill also requires hospitals and birthing centers to show new parents a video on the legitimation process, lets a father note genetic testing on the birth certificate, and updates inheritance law so children legitimated this way can inherit from their biological fathers.

• Creates a new administrative legitimation process (O.C.G.A. § 19-7-22.1) letting biological fathers petition the Department of Human Services directly instead of going to court.
• Requires DHS to grant a legitimation petition within two months if genetic testing confirms paternity and the father has no disqualifying criminal history or protective orders.
• Bars legitimation through this process if the child was conceived through nonconsensual sex, the mother was under 14, or another man is already the child's legal father.
• Requires licensed hospitals and birthing centers to show a legitimation education video and provide a pamphlet to new parents before discharge.
• Allows a putative father to note on a birth certificate that he has submitted to genetic testing to establish paternity.
• Updates Georgia's inheritance law (O.C.G.A. § 53-2-3) and the definition of 'legal father' in multiple code sections to recognize legitimation granted through this new DHS process.

Unmarried biological fathers seeking legal recognition, mothers and children born outside marriage, the Department of Human Services, hospitals and birthing centers that must show the new education video, county superior court clerks who record the legitimations, and courts handling custody, visitation, and inheritance disputes.

Fathers who establish paternity through genetic testing could gain legal recognition, custody or visitation standing, and inheritance rights for their child without filing a court case, as long as they meet DHS's criteria within six months of birth. New parents would also get standardized information on this option at the hospital.

• Section 1 names the bill the 'Georgia's Responsible Fathers Act.'
• Sections 2, 3, 6 revise the definition of 'legal father' across Titles 15 and 19 to include fathers legitimated under the new DHS process.
• Section 4 creates O.C.G.A. § 19-7-22.1, letting a biological father petition DHS within six months of birth for legitimation based on genetic testing, with DHS required to decide within two months.
• Section 4(c) requires DHS to grant the petition if there is clear and convincing evidence of no family violence convictions or protective orders against the petitioner.
• Section 4(d) bars granting the petition if the child resulted from nonconsensual sex, the mother was under 14, or a different legal father already exists.
• Section 4(e) requires DHS to file approved legitimation orders with the clerk of superior court for recording.
• Section 7 requires hospitals and birthing centers to show newborns' parents a legitimation education video and provide a pamphlet before discharge.
• Section 9 amends inheritance law (O.C.G.A. § 53-2-3) so children legitimated under this new process can inherit from their biological fathers.

1. 2026-02-18House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-02-17House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-02-17House Hopper (House)

• Carter Barrett (R, HD-024)Primary sponsor
• Teddy Reese (D, HD-140)
• Jon Burns (R, HD-159)
• Carolyn Hugley (D, HD-141)
• Stan Gunter (R, HD-008)
• Vance Smith (R, HD-138)

• paternity and legitimation
• family law
• child custody
• birth certificates
• inheritance law