Municipality of Houten: acknowledging parenthood of your child

• You are not married to the mother or have no registered partnership with the mother. 
• You want to become the legal parent of your (unborn) child. 
• You can acknowledge before or after birth. We recommend arranging this in advance. This way, your child will legally have a father or co-mother from birth. The child can also get your surname right away.
• You arrange the acknowledgement by appointment. 
• Do you or the mother not live in the Netherlands or have you recently moved to the Netherlands? Then you may need more documents. In that case, call 030-6392611 first. 
• Were you both or one of you born abroad and have you never shown your birth certificate to the municipality before? Then you may need more documents. In that case, call 030-6392611 first.

Make an appointment 

Recognizing a child                                     Recognizing a foreign nationality 

Parental authority 

• If you are not married to the mother or do not have a registered partnership with the mother, you will automatically have joint custody of your child after recognition as of January 1, 2023. Read the exceptions here: the Judiciary. 
• Children born before January 1, 2023 fall under the old legislation. The parents must still arrange this with the court.

What do you need to bring? 

• Valid proof of identity of the person acknowledging the child. 
• Valid proof of identity of the mother. 
• Are you having your first child together? Then the mother must come to the town hall. 
• Is the child 12 years or older? Then the child must come to the town hall. Bring a valid proof of identity of the child. 
• For all subsequent children, the mother does not need to come. This can be done using one of the forms below. Take the form to the town hall.

Consent of unborn fetus 

Consent of existing child.