We give notice to John Doe by publishing a document called “Notice of Adoption Proceedings” in a newspaper of general circulation.  Typically the selected newspaper is in the city or county where it is believed that the child was conceived.
We serve John Doe so that any man who we do not know the true identity of but who is or, may claim to be, the biological father of the child gets the required opportunity to know about and participate in the adoption action. If biological father was not given notice of the adoption action and the opportunity to participate, he can later attempt to have the adoption set aside.  I and many other attorneys believe that the cost associated with serving John Doe with notice of the adoption proceedings in a local newspaper is justified to reduce or eliminate the possibility that another man could later come back and attempt to upset the adoption by claiming he is the biological father of the child and was never given any notice of the adoption proceedings.

In almost all cases those efforts are not treated as being successful unless we are able to obtain a genetic test (DNA test) confirming the biological relationship between the man and the child. If those efforts are unsuccessful and the identity of the biological father cannot be determined with some certainty then John Doe is used as the name for the unknown father. John Doe (or another generic name such as Richard Roe) is the name given to the unknown biological father of the child.