Municipality of Goeree-Overflakkee: acknowledging parenthood of your child

If you are not automatically the legal parent of a child, you can acknowledge a child. You can also choose which surname the child will receive. You personally visit the municipality for this.

Description

You automatically become the legal parent if you have a registered partnership or are married to the mother of the child. Otherwise you can acknowledge the child at the municipality. You will then still become the legal parent. You must also acknowledge each subsequent child separately. That is not automatic. You can acknowledge a child before the birth, at the birth registration or after the birth registration.

Are you not married and do you not have a registered partnership? In that case, the child will automatically be given the name of the biological mother when registering the birth. If you acknowledge the child as a father or co-mother, you can choose which surname the child will receive. The surname you choose for the first child also becomes the surname of subsequent children from the same relationship.

If you acknowledge a child, this does not mean that you also receive parental authority. You are not allowed to make any decisions for the child without parental authority. You can apply for parental authority via the website Rechtspraak.nl.

Recognize a child and choose a name

The most important conditions for recognizing a child are:

You are 16 years or older.
You are not related to the mother.
There are not already 2 parents.
If the child is older than 12 and younger than 16: the mother and the child give permission for the recognition.
If the child is older than 16: the child gives permission for the recognition.

The main conditions for choosing a name upon recognition are:

Both parents are present at the name selection.
You can only choose the surname for the first child in the relationship.

When recognizing your first child, you can choose which surname he or she will receive when registering the birth: the name of the mother or yours. If you want your child to be given your name, the mother must come with you to the municipality. Written permission from the mother is then not sufficient. You can choose to recognize the child as an unborn child before birth.

If you do not choose, the child will automatically be given the mother's last name. All subsequent children in the family will automatically have the same surname as your first child.

To recognize a child and choose a surname, you must personally go to the municipality. Do you recognize the child when registering the birth? Then you go to the municipality where the child was born. Do you recognize the child before the birth or after the birth registration? Then you can go to any municipality in the Netherlands.

How to recognize a child:

You come to the church.
Do you want to choose a surname when recognizing your first child? Then the mother must also be present.
You take with you to the municipality:
- a valid proof of identity for yourself
- a valid identity document from the mother
- written permission from the mother for the recognition, if she is not present
- written permission from the child for the recognition, if the child is older than 12 years

Recognition and name selection is free.
You can apply for a deed of recognition in the municipality where the recognition took place. A copy or extract from the civil registry costs: € 14.30.

You pay costs for applying for a deed. Contact the municipality for more information.

The acknowledgement cannot always be processed immediately. This depends on the personal situation of the child and the person acknowledging the child. For example, acknowledgement takes longer if the child was born before 1985 or if the person having the child officially recognised does not hold Dutch citizenship.

Do you disagree with the municipality's decision regarding the recognition of your child? Then file an appeal with the court.