Municipality of Nijmegen: acknowledging parenthood of your child

Acknowledge before birth

• a valid passport or identity card from both parents;
• personal or written consent of the mother.

Please note! The mother must accompany you personally if it concerns your 1st child and you want to give the child your surname.

Acknowledge during the birth registration

• A valid passport or identity card from both parents.
• Personal or written consent from the mother. Please note! The mother must accompany you personally if it concerns your 1st child and you want to give the child your surname.
• Did you have a certificate of name choice made before the birth? Then you must bring a copy with you to the appointment.
• Was the child born within a registered partnership or marriage between 2 women, with an unknown donor? Then bring a parentage statement from the Stichting Donorgegevens ('Donor Data Foundation'). Send an email to info@donorgegevens.nl or call +31 70 340 55 40
• Declaration of marital status if one of the parents lives abroad. You can request this statement in the municipality where you live.

Acknowledge after birth registration

If the child is younger than 12 years

• valid passport or identity card of yourself and the mother;
• personal or written consent of the mother.

Please note! The mother must accompany you personally if it concerns your 1st child and you want to give the child your surname.

If the child is 12 - 16 years old

• valid passport or identity card of yourself, the mother and the child;
• personal or written consent of the mother.

Please note! The mother must accompany you personally if it concerns your 1st child and you want to give the child your surname.

If the child is 16 years or older

• the child himself;
• valid passport or identity card of yourself and the child;
• the child's personal consent.

During the appointment, the child chooses what his surname will be. The mother no longer has to give permission if the child is 16 years or older.

Call the municipality of Nijmegen at +31 24 329 90 00 to make an appointment.

• Official acknowledgement and choice of surname are free of charge.
• You can apply for an akte van erkenning (acknowledgement of parenthood certificate) in the municipality where the acknowledgment took place. For a copy or extract from the civil status records you have to pay.

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.