Too many unmarried fathers feel that they don’t have any rights in adoption cases or that they don’t have a say, but that’s not true. There are steps unmarried fathers can take to protect their rights and make a commitment to raising their child.

In Alabama, alleged fathers have a right to be notified about adoptions proceedings, but the father first must be registered with the Putative Father Registry. The registry indicates that the man thinks he might have a child born outside of a marriage.

paternity order with the registration.

If a father does not register with the Putative Father Registry within the allowed time frame he is determined to have given “irrevocable implied consent” to any adoption proceedings and he will not receive a letter notifying him of the adoption proceedings.

That means the fathers rights to the child could be terminated. Even if the father has had a role in the child’s life, he still must sign up for the registry or establish paternity in order to be notified of a pending adoption.

Additionally, the alleged father is responsible for notifying the Department of Human Resources’ Office of Permanency of a change of address.