Acknowledgement of child before 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 parent.

• Are you the person acknowledging the child? Then you must attend the appointment in person.
• You need permission from the birth mother.
• Are 1 or both of the parents not registered in the Personal Records Database (BRP) of the municipality? Then the Municipality of The Hague must first check the personal data at the municipality where the parent(s) is/are registered.
• Do you also want to acknowledge any later-born children after acknowledging the 1st child? Then you only need written permission from the birth mother.

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
• if the mother does not attend the appointment: a completed ‘Permission for acknowledgement before the birth’ form.

Use this form to get permission from the mother:

Permission for acknowledgement before the birth (in Dutch)

(PDF, 7.4 KB)

Mother at the appointment

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

• you want the child to get your Begin link: surname, end link. or a double surname
• you both want only the mother to get parental authority. It then does not make a difference if the acknowledgement is for the 1st child or for a later-born child

You live abroad

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

To acknowledge your child before the birth, you need to make an appointment at City Hall Spui or the Leyweg 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..
• Do you want to register the birth of your child? Take a copy of the acknowledgement of child certificate with you to the appointment to register the birth of the child.