{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/20-49.5.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/20-49.5.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/20-49.5.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/20-49.5.html"}],"law_id":66230,"edition_id":1,"section_id":66230,"structure_id":13943,"section_number":"20-49.5","catch_line":"Support of children of unwed parents by the father; testimony under oath","history":"1988, cc. 866, 878.","full_text":"Whenever in any legal proceedings a man voluntarily testifies under oath or affirmation that he is the father of a child whose parents are not married, or are not married to each other, the court may require that he complete an acknowledgment of paternity on a form provided by the Department of Social Services. This acknowledgment shall be sent by the clerk of the court within thirty days of completion to the Department of Social Services.\n\t\tIn any proceeding under this chapter, the petitioner may request a true copy of this form from the Department of Social Services and the Department shall remit such form to the court where the petition has been filed. Such true copy of an acknowledgment of paternity shall then be admissible in any proceeding under this chapter.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":240579,"text":"Whenever in any legal proceedings a man voluntarily testifies under oath or affirmation that he is the father of a child whose parents are not married, or are not married to each other, the court may require that he complete an acknowledgment of paternity on a form provided by the Department of Social Services. This acknowledgment shall be sent by the clerk of the court within thirty days of completion to the Department of Social Services.\n\t\tIn any proceeding under this chapter, the petitioner may request a true copy of this form from the Department of Social Services and the Department shall remit such form to the court where the petition has been filed. Such true copy of an acknowledgment of paternity shall then be admissible in any proceeding under this chapter.","type":"section","prefixes":[""],"prefix":"","entire_prefix":"","prefix_anchor":"","level":1}},"ancestry":[{"id":13943,"edition_id":1,"name":"Proceedings to Determine Parentage","identifier":"3.1","label":"chapter","depth":2,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12711,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:46:22","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:46:22","permalink":{"id":178347,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":13943,"identifier":"3.1","token":"20\/3.1","url":"\/20\/3.1\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12711,"edition_id":1,"name":"Domestic Relations","identifier":"20","label":"title","depth":1,"order_by":1,"parent_id":null,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:49","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:49","permalink":{"id":178075,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12711,"identifier":"20","token":"20","url":"\/20\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}}],"structure_contents":[{"id":79167,"structure_id":13943,"section_number":"20-49.1","catch_line":"How parent and child relationship established","url":"\/20-49.1\/","token":"20\/3.1\/20-49.1","metadata":false},{"id":60411,"structure_id":13943,"section_number":"20-49.10","catch_line":"Relief from legal determination of paternity","url":"\/20-49.10\/","token":"20\/3.1\/20-49.10","metadata":false},{"id":60564,"structure_id":13943,"section_number":"20-49.2","catch_line":"Commencement of action; parties; jurisdiction","url":"\/20-49.2\/","token":"20\/3.1\/20-49.2","metadata":false},{"id":70927,"structure_id":13943,"section_number":"20-49.3","catch_line":"Admission of genetic tests","url":"\/20-49.3\/","token":"20\/3.1\/20-49.3","metadata":false},{"id":59276,"structure_id":13943,"section_number":"20-49.4","catch_line":"Evidence relating to parentage","url":"\/20-49.4\/","token":"20\/3.1\/20-49.4","metadata":false},{"id":66230,"structure_id":13943,"section_number":"20-49.5","catch_line":"Support of children of unwed parents by the father; testimony under oath","url":"\/20-49.5\/","token":"20\/3.1\/20-49.5","metadata":false},{"id":83066,"structure_id":13943,"section_number":"20-49.6","catch_line":"Proceedings to establish paternity or enforce support obligations of males between the ages of fourteen and eighteen","url":"\/20-49.6\/","token":"20\/3.1\/20-49.6","metadata":false},{"id":73619,"structure_id":13943,"section_number":"20-49.7","catch_line":"Civil actions","url":"\/20-49.7\/","token":"20\/3.1\/20-49.7","metadata":false},{"id":75922,"structure_id":13943,"section_number":"20-49.8","catch_line":"Judgment or order; costs; birth record","url":"\/20-49.8\/","token":"20\/3.1\/20-49.8","metadata":false},{"id":54998,"structure_id":13943,"section_number":"20-49.9","catch_line":"Repealed","url":"\/20-49.9\/","token":"20\/3.1\/20-49.9","metadata":false}],"previous_section":{"id":59276,"structure_id":13943,"section_number":"20-49.4","catch_line":"Evidence relating to parentage","url":"\/20-49.4\/","token":"20\/3.1\/20-49.4","metadata":false},"next_section":{"id":83066,"structure_id":13943,"section_number":"20-49.6","catch_line":"Proceedings to establish paternity or enforce support obligations of males between the ages of fourteen and eighteen","url":"\/20-49.6\/","token":"20\/3.1\/20-49.6","metadata":false},"metadata":false,"official_url":"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/20-49.5\/","history_text":"

This law was first created in 1988. The record of its establishment is cataloged in chapters 866 and 878 of that year\u2019s edition of \u201cActs of Assembly,\u201d the annual state publication listing all changes made to the Code of Virginia in that year. Unfortunately, the 1988 \u201cActs\u201d aren\u2019t available online.<\/p>","references":[{"id":59276,"section_number":"20-49.4","catch_line":"Evidence relating to parentage","order_by":null,"url":"\/20-49.4\/"}],"refers_to":false,"permalink":{"id":178369,"object_type":"law","relational_id":66230,"identifier":"20-49.5","token":"20\/3.1\/20-49.5","url":"\/20-49.5\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/20-49.5\/","token":"20\/3.1\/20-49.5","dublin_core":{"Title":"Support of children of unwed parents by the father; testimony under oath","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 20-49.5","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Whenever in any legal proceedings a man voluntarily testifies under oath<\/span> or affirmation that he is the father of a child whose parents are not married, or are not married to each other, the court<\/span> may require that he complete an acknowledgment of paternity on a form provided by the Department of Social Services. This acknowledgment shall be sent by the clerk of the court<\/span> within thirty days of completion to the Department of Social Services.\n\t\tIn any proceeding under this chapter, the petitioner may request a true copy of this form from the Department of Social Services and the Department shall remit such form to the court<\/span> where the petition<\/span> has been filed. Such true copy of an acknowledgment of paternity shall then be admissible<\/span> in any proceeding under this chapter.<\/p><\/section>","plain_text":" CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nSUPPORT OF CHILDREN OF UNWED PARENTS BY THE FATHER; TESTIMONY UNDER OATH (\u00a7\n20-49.5)\n\nWhenever in any legal proceedings a man voluntarily testifies under oath or\naffirmation that he is the father of a child whose parents are not married, or\nare not married to each other, the court may require that he complete an\nacknowledgment of paternity on a form provided by the Department of Social\nServices. This acknowledgment shall be sent by the clerk of the court within\nthirty days of completion to the Department of Social Services.\n\t\tIn any proceeding under this chapter, the petitioner may request a true copy\nof this form from the Department of Social Services and the Department shall\nremit such form to the court where the petition has been filed. Such true copy\nof an acknowledgment of paternity shall then be admissible in any proceeding\nunder this chapter.\n\nHISTORY: 1988, cc. 866, 878.","edition":{"id":1,"name":"2025","slug":"2025","date_created":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","date_modified":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","current":1,"order_by":1,"last_import":null}}