Acknowledgement of child after the birth

You can acknowledge a child as long as the child has only 1 legal parent. You will then legally become the 2nd parent. This can be done, for example, when you and the mother are not married, or do not have a civil partnership.

Were you the married or civil partner at the time of birth? Then you do not have to acknowledge the child. You will automatically become the 2nd parent.

• Are you the person acknowledging parenthood? Then you must attend the appointment in person.
• Is the child younger than 12 years? Then you need consent from the birth mother.
• Is the child between 12 and 16 years? Then you need consent from both the mother and the child. The child also attends the appointment.
• Is the child 16 years or older? Then you only need consent from the child. The child attends the appointment with you. The child must declare whose surname he/she will take. 

Also read Begin external link: Which conditions apply if I want to acknowledge my child?(External link), end external link. (in Dutch) (Rijksoverheid.nl).

Presence of the mother

Sometimes the birth mother must also attend the appointment. This is the case when:

• you want to Begin link: choose a surname, end link.  for a child younger than 16 years. The chosen surname will be given to all subsequent children born to the same parents.
• both of you want only the mother to get parental authority. It then does not matter whether the acknowledgement is for the 1st or for a later-born child.

• a valid form of identification for the person acknowledging parenthood
• a valid form of identification for the birth mother
•  a valid form of identification for the child, if he has one
• if the child is younger than 16 years: complete the ‘Permission from the mother for acknowledgement’ form

Use this form to get consent from the mother:

Residing abroad

Do you, or the the birth mother, or the child live abroad? Or was the child born outside of the Netherlands? Then you might need more documents. You will hear this during the appointment.

To acknowledge a child after the birth, you need to make an appointment at a city office.

Free.

If you meet all the conditions, you will get an acknowledgement of child certificate right away.

• After you legally become the parent, you and the mother will have parental authority over the child. You will then have a number of rights and responsibilites. More information can be found on the Begin external link: website of the Government of the Netherlands(External link), end external link..
• The child will get the surname of the birth mother at birth. Do you want the child to get your surname? You can notify the municipality. Read more on the page Begin link: Choose a surname for your child, end link. .
• A child can automatically become a Dutch citizen when the acknowledging parent is Dutch. More information can be found on the Begin external link: website of the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND)(External link), end external link..