Affidavit of Parentage (Fill-In Form) – Delaware

The Affidavit of Parentage (Fill-In Form) is a Delaware Family Court form on which a petitioner or respondent states, under penalty of perjury, what they know about who is a parent of a named child, so the court can see who else may have a legal connection to the child.

The caption names the Family Court of the State of Delaware, with the county (New Castle, Kent or Sussex), the petitioner and respondent, and the child: "in the interest of", date of birth, and city and state of birth.

The numbered paragraphs ask:

• Paragraph 1: who the child's birth mother is (petitioner, respondent or other, with an address if other).
• Paragraph 2: whether court- or agency-ordered genetic testing has never been conducted, may have been conducted with an unknown result, excluded someone as a parent, or established someone as a likely parent by a 99% or greater probability.
• Paragraph 3: anyone identified as a parent by a court or administrative order, who signed a Voluntary Acknowledgement of Paternity (VAP) on file with an Office of Vital Statistics, who is named on the birth registration, who took part in assisted reproduction intending to become a legal parent, or who lived in the same household and held the child out as their own for the first 2 years of the child's life.
• Paragraph 4: whether the child was born during a marriage or civil union, or within 300 days after divorce or dissolution.
• Paragraph 5: name and address of anyone from paragraph 3 or 4 who is not already a party to the petition.
• Paragraphs 6 and 7: completed only by the child's mother.

The form is sworn before a notary or the Clerk of Court.

The form is completed by a party to a Family Court matter about a child's parentage, shown on the form as the petitioner or the respondent. The caption asks you to mark which one you are.

• Any petitioner or respondent: answer paragraphs 1 through 5 and sign the oath.
• The child's mother: also answer paragraphs 6 and 7, which sit under the heading "Complete only if you are the child's mother". They ask who she believes the biological father is and whether that person was the only person with whom she had sexual intercourse, or whether she conceived by assisted reproduction with an anonymous sperm donor. She may instead choose not to answer and ask that genetic testing be ordered to determine parentage.
• Anyone who is not the mother: leave paragraphs 6 and 7 blank, as the heading directs.

Paragraph 5 asks you to name any person identified in paragraph 3 or 4 who is not already a party to the petition. The form does not say who may sign for another person; it asks for the signature of the petitioner or respondent.

The affidavit refers to "this petition", so it is completed in connection with a petition in the Family Court and not on its own schedule. The form prints no separate due date. Complete it when you prepare or respond to that petition, using what you know at the time, and sign it before a notary or the Clerk of Court. For deadlines that apply to your petition, check the Family Court's instructions or ask the court.

The form names no filing channel, address or portal of its own. It refers to "this petition", so it goes to the Family Court with the petition it supports; confirm the county's filing method with the court.

• Signing: the oath says "I SWEAR (or) AFFIRM under penalty of perjury". The form states that an electronic signature is permitted: sign "/s/ Your Name" and print your name.
• Swearing: the bottom block, "Sworn to and subscribed before me", has spaces for the day and date and for the signature of a Notary or the Clerk of Court.
• Finding other Family Court forms: Delaware Courts lists its forms, including a Paternity/Genetic Testing category, at https://courts.delaware.gov/forms/list.aspx.

FillingPDF lets you fill out and download the PDF; submission follows the Family Court's channels.