13 Del. C. § 8-302
This is the official text of 13 Del. C. § 8-302, part of Delaware’s Del. C — part of the compiled statutory law of Delaware, published by the state as "Del. C." Browse the sections below, each linked to its official government source.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
§ Â 8-302. Execution of acknowledgment of paternity.
Official statutory text
(a) An acknowledgment of paternity must:
(1) Be in a record;
(2) Be signed, or otherwise authenticated, under penalty of perjury by the mother and by the man seeking to establish the man’s own paternity;
(3) State that the child whose paternity is being acknowledged:
(i) Does not have a presumed father, or has a presumed father whose full name is stated; and
(ii) Does not have another acknowledged or adjudicated father.
(4) State whether there has been genetic testing and, if so, that the acknowledging man’s claim of paternity is consistent with the results of the testing; and
(5) State that the signatories understand that the acknowledgement is the equivalent of a judicial adjudication of paternity of the child and that a challenge to the acknowledgement is permitted only under limited circumstances and is barred after 2 years.
(b) An acknowledgment of paternity is void if it:
(1) States that another man is a presumed father, unless a denial of paternity signed or otherwise authenticated by the presumed father is filed with the Office of Vital Statistics;
(2) States that another man is an acknowledged or adjudicated father;
(3) Falsely denies the existence of a presumed, acknowledged or adjudicated father of the child; or
(4) Is signed by the mother or a man seeking to establish the man’s own paternity who is a minor at the time of signing the acknowledgment of paternity.
(c) A presumed father may sign or otherwise authenticate an acknowledgment of paternity.
(1) Be in a record;
(2) Be signed, or otherwise authenticated, under penalty of perjury by the mother and by the man seeking to establish the man’s own paternity;
(3) State that the child whose paternity is being acknowledged:
(i) Does not have a presumed father, or has a presumed father whose full name is stated; and
(ii) Does not have another acknowledged or adjudicated father.
(4) State whether there has been genetic testing and, if so, that the acknowledging man’s claim of paternity is consistent with the results of the testing; and
(5) State that the signatories understand that the acknowledgement is the equivalent of a judicial adjudication of paternity of the child and that a challenge to the acknowledgement is permitted only under limited circumstances and is barred after 2 years.
(b) An acknowledgment of paternity is void if it:
(1) States that another man is a presumed father, unless a denial of paternity signed or otherwise authenticated by the presumed father is filed with the Office of Vital Statistics;
(2) States that another man is an acknowledged or adjudicated father;
(3) Falsely denies the existence of a presumed, acknowledged or adjudicated father of the child; or
(4) Is signed by the mother or a man seeking to establish the man’s own paternity who is a minor at the time of signing the acknowledgment of paternity.
(c) A presumed father may sign or otherwise authenticate an acknowledgment of paternity.
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Need a lawyer in Delaware?
Find a Delaware lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the
Open US Law dataset
(Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine
(Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.