How to file a legitimation when parents marry after the birth

The Demographic Registry defines it citing Article 122 of the Puerto Rico Civil Code (31 LPRA sec. 442): legitimation takes place when the registrant’s biological parents marry after the birth of the person to be legitimated. In other words, the triggering fact is the parents’ marriage after the child’s birth, not a declaration of paternity. That is why it is a different process from recognition, even though both end up touching the birth certificate and even though in one scenario the Registry requires both.

It applies when the registrant’s biological parents marry after their birth. The Registry contemplates that the person being legitimated may be of legal age: in that case it asks for a letter of acceptance, and a sworn statement if they do not appear in person. And it contemplates a marriage performed outside Puerto Rico, which adds requirements. If your case does not fit — for example, if the father has never recognized the child and there is no marriage involved — what applies is probably a paternity recognition, a different process at a different price.

• That the biological parents married after the birth of the person to be legitimated.Verified against the official source
• Presenting the marriage certificate, if the marriage took place outside Puerto Rico.Verified against the official source
• Photo identification of both parents, and identification of the person to be legitimated.Verified against the official source
• If the person to be legitimated is of legal age, a letter of acceptance, or a sworn statement if they do not appear in person.Verified against the official source
• Completing the legitimation application and bringing a $10.00 internal revenue stamp.Verified against the official source
• If the parents married outside Puerto Rico and the person to be legitimated is a minor, also completing Form RD-232, Paternity Recognition.Verified against the official source

• The completed legitimation application.
• Photo identification of both parents, and identification of the person to be legitimated.
• The marriage certificate, if the marriage was performed outside Puerto Rico.
• The letter of acceptance — or the sworn statement — if the person to be legitimated is of legal age, and Form RD-232 in the scenario that requires it.

1. 1

   Step 1: Confirm yours is a legitimation and not a recognition

   Legitimation is triggered by a specific fact: the biological parents marrying after the birth. If that marriage exists, this is your process and it costs $10.00. If there is no marriage involved and what is needed is for the father to admit paternity, that is a recognition, with a different procedure and a cost of $20.00 or $35.00 depending on elapsed time.

2. 2

   Step 2: If they married outside Puerto Rico, get the marriage certificate

   The Registry asks for it expressly in that case. If the marriage was in Puerto Rico, the Registry already has the record; if it was elsewhere, it must be supplied, and that certificate comes from the jurisdiction where the marriage took place, with its own timelines.

3. 3

   Step 3: Check whether the RD-232 also applies to you

   This is the most overlooked conditional requirement, and it applies when two conditions hold at once: that the parents married outside Puerto Rico and that the person to be legitimated is a minor. In that scenario the Registry also asks you to complete Form RD-232, Paternity Recognition. If only one of the two conditions holds, it does not apply.

4. 4

   Step 4: Coordinate everyone’s identification

   The Registry asks for photo identification of both parents and also identification of the person being legitimated. And if that person is of legal age, their letter of acceptance is required, or a sworn statement if they will not appear in person. Coordinating that is usually what delays the process most when the child is already an adult.

5. 5

   Step 5: Go to the Central Office with the $10.00 stamp

   The Registry states this process is carried out only at the Central Office, Metro Center, Calle Mayagüez #5, San Juan, PR 00910. Bring the completed legitimation application and the $10.00 internal revenue stamp.

Only at the Demographic Registry’s Central Office: Metro Center, Calle Mayagüez #5, San Juan, PR 00910.

• Requesting a paternity recognition — at $20.00 or $35.00 — when the situation is really a legitimation, which costs $10.00.
• Going without the marriage certificate when the parents married outside Puerto Rico.
• Overlooking the RD-232 in the one scenario that requires it: marriage outside Puerto Rico and a minor being legitimated.
• Showing up without one of the two parents’ identification, when the Registry asks for both.
• Not obtaining the letter of acceptance when the person to be legitimated is already of legal age.
• Going to a local office instead of the Central Office in San Juan, which is where the process is carried out.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Departamento de Salud de Puerto Rico

  Salud

  www.salud.pr.gov

• Demographic Registry — vital event certifications

  Departamento de Salud

  www.salud.pr.gov