Putative Father Registry ASAP or else!

If you are a man who has sex with an unmarried woman and you do not register with the State of Ohio as a "putative father" within 30 days of birth, the child can be adopted out and you have absolutely no right to contest the adoption!!! Lesson: if you have sex outside of a marriage relationship, you better know this law backwards and forwards if you plan to have any rights to your child. My apologies for quoting such long, boring language from the statute, but it matters.
Editorial comments in bold.

So here is the law:

“Putative father” means a man, including one under age eighteen, who may be a child’s father and to whom all of the following apply:
(1) He is not married to the child’s mother at the time of the child’s conception or birth;
(2) He has not adopted the child;
(3) He has not been determined, prior to the date a petition to adopt the child is filed, to have a parent and child relationship with the child by a court proceeding or an administrative agency proceeding;
(4) He has not acknowledged paternity of the child.

3107.061 Putative father on notice that consent unnecessary.
A man who has sexual intercourse with a woman is on notice that if a child is born as a result and the man is the putative father, the child may be adopted without his consent.
That means you have no say...ouch.

3107.062 Putative father registry.
The department of job and family services shall establish a putative father registry. To register, a putative father must complete a registration form prescribed under section 3107.065 of the Revised Code and submit it to the department. The registration form shall include the putative father’s name; the address or telephone number at which he wishes to receive notice of a petition to adopt the minor he claims as his child; and the name of the mother of the minor.
A putative father may register before or not later than thirty days after the birth of the child. No fee shall be charged for registration.
On receipt of a completed registration form, the department shall indicate on the form the date of receipt and file it in the putative father registry. The department shall maintain registration forms in a manner that enables it to access a registration form using either the name of the putative father or of the mother.
Most putative fathers aren't exactly on top of such mundane administrative tasks.
3107.065 Rules governing registry - promoting awareness.
Not later than ninety days after the effective date of this section, the director of job and family services shall do both of the following:
(A) Adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code governing the putative father registry.
(B) Establish a campaign to promote awareness of the putative father registry. The campaign shall include informational materials about the registry.
Were you aware of the registry before reading this?

3107.07 Consent unnecessary.
Consent to adoption is not required of any of the following:
(A) A parent of a minor, when it is alleged in the adoption petition and the court finds after proper service of notice and hearing, that the parent has failed without justifiable cause to communicate with the minor or to provide for the maintenance and support of the minor as required by law or judicial decree for a period of at least one year immediately preceding either the filing of the adoption petition or the placement of the minor in the home of the petitioner.
(B) The putative father of a minor if either of the following applies:
(1) The putative father fails to register as the minor’s putative father with the putative father registry established under section 3107.062 of the Revised Code not later than thirty days after the minor’s birth;
(2) The court finds, after proper service of notice and hearing, that any of the following are the case:
(a) The putative father is not the father of the minor;
(b) The putative father has willfully abandoned or failed to care for and support the minor;
(c) The putative father has willfully abandoned the mother of the minor during her pregnancy and up to the time of her surrender of the minor, or the minor’s placement in the home of the petitioner, whichever occurs first.
If you don't register, you are SOL, pal.

http://codes.ohio.gov/orc