Minas Gerais registry offices register a record number of babies without their father’s name on their birth certificate

There are 3,958 children baptized by a single mother between January and April this year

Since 2018, Minas Gerais has never had such a high percentage of births of children without the father’s name on the certificate as occurs in 2024. A survey of the state’s civil registry offices shows that 5% of births occurring between January and April this year have only the mother’s name on the document. There are 3,958 children baptized by a single mother. In total, there were 76 thousand registry records involving children’s certificates.

Isadora Peixoto, lawyer from the Legal Department of the Union of Civil Registration Officers of Persons of Minas Gerais, details under what circumstances registration is done by a single mother: “In any situation, the mother who arrives at a registry office to register her child must have the live birth certificate (DNV) and her identification document. The father’s name only appears in the registry if the father appears in person and declares this paternity or if he is married to the mother and the mother presents the marriage certificate”.

The father who takes over the child after registering the document must go to the registry office in person. “If the child is a minor, the mother must sign this acknowledgment. If it is a person of legal age, the adult must sign with that parent,” she said. If there is no consensus, they must seek justice. “After the judicial process, the warrant will arrive. This warrant will be recorded in the birth registry and the father’s name will appear,” she said.

Isadora explains what happens when the father escapes responsibility. “All records made only with established motherhood, the officer will ask the declarant — who is generally the mother — whether or not she wants to indicate the supposed father. With the father’s data (name, address, etc.), the officer will send a document to the Judge and then the Judge will summon the father. Thus, this process of recognition that takes place at the judicial level begins,” she reported.

The lawyer points out the difference between the registration of the biological father or the socio-affective father. “There is currently socio-affective recognition. Today, a person can have two fathers on the register and two mothers. Socio-affective recognition has a procedure. When the child is under 12 years old, this recognition must be at the judicial level. Afterwards, those interested should look for a notary’s office,” she explained.

Regardless of the family configuration, Isadora highlights the importance of registration. “The ideal is that the child does not remain without registration. Even if the father does not immediately have the consent to register, the ideal is for the mother to go to the registry office and register and then look for her rights, which is currently more accessible,” she said.

In absolute numbers, the years 2019 and 202 had the highest number of registered children from single mothers, with 4,162 between January and April. However, in 2019 and 2023, child registrations as a whole were higher.

Itatiaia