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Parental Recognition Laws

Legal recognition of the parent-child relationship ("parentage") is important for many reasons, from healthcare decisions and school settings to economic security, everyday life, and much more. But for both LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ people alike, families are made in many different ways, and so there need to be multiple ways for the parent-child relationship to be legally secured. These maps illustrate some of the multiple pathways to parental recognition that are especially important for LGBTQ families.

For most children born to unmarried parents, legal recognition of parentage is established through the “voluntary acknowledgment of parentage” (VAP), a legal document typically completed at the hospital at the time of the child’s birth. There are no costs associated with it, and once it takes effect, it is the legal equivalent of a court decree of parentage and, under federal law, must be respected across state lines and in all jurisdictions. However, in many states, only men who are believed to be the genetic father of the child in question are permitted to sign VAPs. As a result, many LGBTQ families face obstacles to this pathway to parental recognition. Now, a growing number of states are updating their parenting laws to ensure that any parent—regardless of their marital status, gender, sexual orientation, or genetic relationship to the child—can sign a VAP and have their parental relationship legally recognized and protected.
United States Map
  • State has Voluntary Acknowledgment of Parentage (VAP) that is explicitly available to non-genetic and LGBTQ parents (12 states)
  • State has not yet expanded access of Voluntary Acknowledgment of Parentage (VAP), but other pathways to parental recognition may exist (38 states , 5 territories + D.C.)
See also MAP’s June 2023 report, Relationships at Risk: Why We Need to Update State Parentage Laws to Protect Children and Families, for further discussion of the importance of legal recognition of parent-child relationships, the many pathways to legal recognition of parentage, recent examples of modernized parenting laws, and policy recommendations for all states.

Recommended citation for this set of maps:
For this set of maps:  Movement Advancement Project. "Equality Maps: Parental Recognition Laws." www.mapresearch.org/equality-maps/recognition/parenting. Accessed [day of access].

Recommended citation for this specific map:
Movement Advancement Project. "Equality Maps: Voluntary Acknowledgment of Parentage.” www.mapresearch.org/equality-maps/recognition/parenting/vap. Accessed [day of access].

Percent of Adult LGBTQ Population Covered by Laws

*Note: These percentages reflect estimates of the LGBTQ adult population living in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Estimates of the LGBTQ adult population in the five inhabited U.S. territories are not available, and so cannot be reflected here.

33%

33 % of the LGBTQ population lives in states where Voluntary Acknowledgment of Parentage (VAP) is explicitly available to non-genetic and LGBTQ parents

67%

67 % of the LGBTQ population lives in states that have not yet expanded access of Voluntary Acknowledgment of Parentage (VAP), though other pathways may exist



Data current as of 06/27/2025
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