However, the unmarried fathers have no right to custody, visitation, or to oppose the adoption of their children, only the obligation to support them financially (and the penalty of prison time if they fail to do this).
Typically, the father is only guaranteed notification and the right to appear in court to testify about their child's best interests when he has registered timely.
[4] Registering timely with a state's putative father registry supposedly guarantees notice, though there have been documented instances where that wasn’t true.
[citation needed] The number of children adopted without consent or notice to the biological father under the registry program started in the 1970s is unknown.
[10][11] At least one state requires a parent or guardian of the declarant to also sign when a minor under the age of 18 is documenting intercourse with a putative father registry.