Explaining the VRPAT Process

Legal Authority:

56 O. S. § 238.6B Service of Notice of Paternity and Support Obligations – Acknowledgements – Genetic Tests

OAC 340:2-28-57  Certification of copies of administrative orders

Oklahoma Law at 56 O.S. §238.6B(D) requires Child Support Services (CSS) to notify the Oklahoma Department of Health, Division of Vital Records of all Paternity establishments so that the legal father can be added to the child’s Birth Certificate.  CSS accomplishes this by providing Vital Records a certified copy of the Paternity Orders, and the Vital Records Paternity Notice (VRPAT) form.  The VRPAT summarizes the key information within the Paternity Order so that birth certificates can be efficiently updated.

CSS will also request that birth certificate registrars in states other than Oklahoma update birth records when CSS establishes paternity.  The VRPAT includes the state of the child’s birth, so that staff at the Center for Coordinated Programs (CCP) will know where to send the Paternity Order and VRPAT when a child is not born in Oklahoma.

At the time of case initiation, the Case Initiation Center makes every attempt to determine a child’s birth state and to update the DCN for the child.  Because CSS will be sending the Paternity Order and VRPAT to all 50 states, it is very important to make sure that child’s state of birth information is gathered from the parents and custodians.  When a Parentage Questionnaire is returned, the child’s birth state should be added to the child’s DCN.  The state of birth of the father should be added to the fathers DCN.  The interaction with the parents at the time of genetic testing or court dates could be another time to ensure that state of birth information is gathered.

Adobe Live Cycle (ALC) is used to generate the P35 – Order Regarding Parentage and Support Obligation. The VRPAT is an associated document of the P35 and will automatically print if not deselected.  A VRPAT form is required for each child on the order in which paternity has been established. To generate additional VRPAT forms, select the VRPAT document and enter the required key values as requested in the key variable section, paying attention to enter the appropriate child sequence number if multiple children need a VRPAT form.

When a paternity order has been obtained, send a certified copy to the Center for Coordinated Programs (CCP) with the VRPAT form(s) included with the order. You can provide the VRPAT packet to CCP electronically.

It is the responsibility of each CSS district office to submit a properly completed parentage order and VRPAT form to CCP. CCP is responsible for reviewing the parentage orders and VRPAT forms for the necessary and correct information before delivering them to Vital Records. Vital Records will reject anything with missing or incorrect information and birth certificates will not be updated.

View a CSVRPAT example.

Following the processes below will efficiently process and forward packets to Oklahoma and other states’ Vital Records agencies.

To ensure accuracy, all submissions must follow the required email subject line and file naming formats indicated for each child birth location (in-state or out-of-state).

E-mail completed packets to CSS.VRPAT

Subject Line: [FGN], [Child’s State of Birth], [CSS office code] Example: 000XXXXXX001, Kansas, SHA

For Children Born in OK

Packets must include:

• VRPAT Cover Sheet Per Child
• Complete OAH or District Court Paternity Order

Required File Name Format

• [FGN], [Child’s Last Name], [Child’s State of Birth] Example: 000XXXXXX001, Doe, Oklahoma

See Create a Zip File quest article

For Children Born Outside of OK

Packets must include:

• VRPAT Cover Sheet For Each Child Born In That State
• Complete OAH or District Court Paternity Order
  • With an OAH order:
    Required File Name Format [FGN], [Child’s Last Name], [Child’s State of Birth] Example: 000XXXXXX001, Doe, Texas
    (Can be emailed to CSS.VRPAT)

See Create a Zip File quest article

• With a District Court Order:

Two original certified orders with VRPAT Coversheet must be mailed to:
VRPAT
P.O. Box 248822
Oklahoma City, OK 73124-8822

Procedure Chart for amending a child’s birth record

If you need more information, email the Center for Coordinated Programs.

You may also be interested in ALC Tip for Faster Document Loading Time or Identifying Paternity Red Flags