Acknowledgement of child after the birth

You can acknowledge your child if you and the mother:

• are not married
• 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 legal parent.

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

Read all of the conditions on the Begin external link: website of the Rijksoverheid(External link), end external link. (in Dutch).

• a valid form of identification for the person acknowledging the child
• 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: a completed ‘Permission from the mother for acknowledgement’ form

Use this form to get permission from the mother:

Permission from the mother for acknowledgement (in Dutch)

(PDF, 11.4 KB)

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 children born later 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.

You live 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 responsibilities. 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..