Legal Question in Family Law in California

Under California law, if the parents are not married the father's name can only be put on the birth certificate if both parents sign a Declaration of Paternity, or if you obtain a judgment of paternity. If the father is willing to sign the Declaration, it can be done at any time. The only drawback to not doing it in the hospital at the time of the birth is that the original birth certificate will be issues without his name, and there will be a fee for a new birth certificate to be issued and the old one sealed.