Massachusetts General Laws
Chapter 46 - Return and Registry of Births, Marriages and Deaths
Section 3c - Children Born Out of Wedlock; Information Regarding Benefits and Responsibilities of Parentage; Voluntary Acknowledgment of Parentage

Section 3C. Prior to obtaining the report required by section three, if a birth is of a child whose mother was unmarried at the time of birth or conception, the administrator or person in charge of a hospital or similar institution in which such birth occurs, or his agent, shall: (a) provide written information, furnished by the IV–D agency as set forth in chapter one hundred and nineteen A, to the mother, and to the putative father if he is known to the administrator or person in charge of the hospital, regarding the benefits and responsibilities of parentage, including the availability of services to establish paternity, and shall provide an application for child support enforcement services; and (b) provide an opportunity for the child's mother and putative father to complete a voluntary acknowledgment of parentage pursuant to section eleven of chapter two hundred and nine C. If the mother of the child was or is married and the child's birth occurs during the marriage or within 300 days of termination of the marriage by divorce, a voluntary acknowledgment of parentage naming the putative father may be executed by the mother and the putative father only if the mother and the mother's husband at the time of the child's birth or conception sign an affidavit denying that the husband is the father of the child, as provided in section 5 of chapter 209C. Where the marriage has been terminated by annulment or by the death of either the husband or the wife, paternity of the putative father may only be established by filing a complaint to establish paternity as provided by chapter 209C.

Structure Massachusetts General Laws