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Recognising a child before or after birth
If you are not married or not a registered partner with the mother of your child, you can officially recognise your child at the town hall. To do so, make an appointment at the Public Affairs Desk first. When you recognise your child, you will also establish what your child’s surname will be. When you have recognised your child, you will not automatically have authority over the child. Parental authority can be arranged via the Civil Justice website.(Externe link)
• A valid passport or identity document of the mother and you (the person recognising the child).
• If the mother is not present: you will need to bring the signed, written permission of the mother. Please note: the mother must be present for the first child. With the second child, the mother no longer needs to be present.
Recognition prior to the birth (recognition of the unborn foetus)
The advantage to this is that the child has two legal parents from this moment on, also when something happens before the birth to the person who has recognised the child.
You can also already choose the surname of your child.
Recognition upon birth
If the mother is also present, she can give permission to recognising the child and the choice of surname.
If the mother is not, she can give her (written) permission for recognising the child but not for the choice of surname. The child will automatically be given the mother’s surname.
Recognition after birth
Recognition is only possible if no father is stated on the birth certificate.
For children up to the age of 16 years old, the mother must give her written permission.
Starting from the age of 12, the child can also give permission on their own.
For your first child, you can choose which parent’s last name the child will have. One condition for this is that at least one of the parents must have Dutch nationality.
The name you choose for your first child will also apply to any subsequent children from the same parents.
As of January 1, 2024, you can also opt for a double last name. This means a child can have the last names of both the father and the mother.
You must record your name choice either before the birth or when registering the birth. You and your partner arrange the name choice in person at the municipality. This can be done at any municipality in the Netherlands. Note: the service desks are open by appointment only. You can make an appointment via our website.
Both parents must be present at the appointment and bring valid identification. Both parents will make a name choice declaration. It is not possible to authorize someone else to do this on your behalf.
If you do not make a choice, your child will automatically receive a last name. Which last name that will be depends on your family situation. You can find more information about this on the Dutch Government website.
Does your child have the nationality of another country? During the appointment, the naming law of that country will be consulted to determine what it says about name choices.
Does your child have dual nationality? Starting January 1, 2024, you can choose the naming law of one of the two countries.
