You can also initiate a name change petition and, if the dad cannot be located, ask the court to permit substituted service. If that's granted, the court will order you to serve the father in ways reasonably calculated to give him notice of the petition, usually some combination of service by mail, publication, and public posting. If he still doesn't appear, the court can then proceed to hear your petition despite his absence, with a good chance of it's being granted.

