# 2026-22462: Federal Forms Keep Asking Parents to Confirm Who Dad Is

2026-22462, Submission for Office of Management and Budget Review; Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity and Required Data Elements for Paternity Establishment Affidavits, is a Federal Register notice from Health and Human Services Department, Children and Families Administration published 2026-11-04, effective Comments due December 4, 2026.; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-11-04).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-22462
- As of: 2026-11-04
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Document number: 2026-22462
- Title: Submission for Office of Management and Budget Review; Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity and Required Data Elements for Paternity Establishment Affidavits
- Type: Notice
- Agencies: Health and Human Services Department; Children and Families Administration
- Citation: 91 FR 69566
- Published: 2026-11-04
- Effective: Comments due December 4, 2026.
- Comments close: 2026-12-04
- Significant: no
- Touches household money: yes
- Regulation identifier numbers: none
- Last updated: 2026-11-04

## In one line

Federal Forms Keep Asking Parents to Confirm Who Dad Is

## Summary

The government is asking to keep using the current forms that parents sign to officially say who a child's dad is, with no changes to the forms themselves. This affects parents of kids born outside marriage, hospitals, and state agencies, making the process smoother thanks to better technology. Comments on this plan are open until December 4, 2026, and there’s no new cost involved.

## Abstract

The Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is requesting a 3-year extension of the Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity and Required Data Elements for Paternity Establishment Affidavits. No changes are proposed to the data elements, but burden has been adjusted to reflect improved automation for processes.

## Effects PRIA read

- 3‑Year Extension of Paternity Forms: benefit, low. The Office of Child Support Enforcement is requesting a 3‑year extension to keep using the current Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity forms with no changes to the required data elements. Comments on this request are due December 4, 2026, and the agency states there are no new costs for parents o…
- 40% Drop in Estimated Time Burden: benefit, medium. Advances in automation and digital delivery (for example, electronic devices in hospitals) and removal of ordering brochures from the burden calculation have led to a 40 percent overall decrease in estimated annual burden versus the 2024 estimate. The notice reports an estimated total annual burden…

## Related documents

- [2026-16414](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-16414): Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System, 2026-08-12
- [2026-16134](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-16134): Reducing Federal Burden for Head Start Programs, 2026-08-07
- [2026-11530](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-11530): Employment and Training Services for Noncustodial Parents in the Child Support Program; Rescission, 2026-06-09
- [2026-09383](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-09383): Restoring Flexibility To Support Head Start Program Access, 2026-05-12
- [2026-06632](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-06632): Work Participation Rate Calculation Changes: Recalibration of the Caseload Reduction Credit and Prohibition of Small Checks in Work Partici…, 2026-04-06
- [2026-22123](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-22123): Reducing Bureaucracy and Burden for Block Grants, 2026-10-29

## Sources
- [2026-22462 on federalregister.gov](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/11/04/2026-22462/submission-for-office-of-management-and-budget-review-voluntary-acknowledgment-of-paternity-and)
- [2026-22462 as published (PDF)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-11-04/pdf/2026-22462.pdf)

## Related
- [Previous: 2026-22461, Self-Regulatory Organizations; Cboe EDGX Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and I…](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-22461)
- [Next: 2026-22465, Notice of Public Meeting of the New York Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commiss…](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-22465)
- [All Federal Register documents](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-22462 (as of 2026-11-04).