Acknowledging a child and choosing a surname

Are you not automatically the legal parent of a child? Then you can acknowledge the child. You can then also choose which surname the child will get. To do this, visit the municipality.

Make an appointment

Arrange online

Approach

To acknowledge a child and choose a surname, come to the municipality in person. Do you acknowledge the child at the birth registration? Then go to the municipality where the child was born. Do you acknowledge the child before the birth or after the declaration of birth? This is possible in any municipality in the Netherlands.

For an acknowledgment of the first child in a relationship, both parents must be present. You cannot use the consent form then.
For a second and subsequent child, the mother does not need to be present and then consents to recognition using the online form.
Do you choose to not exercise custody together with the acknowledging party? Then you cannot use the form. Make an appointment where both of you must be present.

This is how you acknowledge a child:

You come to the congregation.
Do you want to choose a last name when recognizing your first child? If so, the mother must also be present.
You take to the congregation:
- A valid ID of yourself
- A valid ID from the mother
- written consent of the mother for recognition, if she is not present. Arrange the consent acknowledgement child online
- written consent of the child for recognition, if the child is over 12 years of age
- If the child was not born in Heerlen, bring a copy of the birth certificate.

Has a second or subsequent child been born within your relationship and the father or duo mother wants to acknowledge the child? Then permission from the mother is required. You can give this consent online with your DigiD.

Does the child's mother or recognizer live abroad? You must show proof of marital status. Do you not have the Dutch nationality? Then other rules may apply. Sometimes you cannot acknowledge a child. Would you like more information and advice about your situation? Please make an appointment.

Cost

Acknowledgement and choice of name costs nothing. For a transcript or excerpt from the civil registry, you pay €17.10. You pay this amount at the time of application.

(Rate 2025)

Description

Are you not married, and do not have a registered partnership? Then the birth mother is automatically the sole legal parent of a child from this relationship.

Does the father or duo mother also want to become the legal parent? Then he or she must acknowledge the child.

The legal parents are responsible for raising the child. Read more about the consequences of acknowledging.

You can acknowledge a child even before he or she is born.

Child's last name

Are you not married and do not have a registered partnership? Then the child is automatically given the birth mother's last name when the birth is declared.

Do you as father or duo mother acknowledge the child? Then you and the birth mother can choose together which surname the child will have. You can choose the surname of the birth mother, of the partner, or a combination of both.

The last name you choose for the first child also becomes the last name of subsequent children from the same relationship.

Requirements

The main Requirements for recognizing a child are:

You are 16 years of age or older.
You are not related to the mother.
There are not already 2 parents. Because a child has a maximum of 2 legal parents.

You can also acknowledge a child if you are not the biological parent.

The main requirement for choosing a surname upon recognition are:

It is the first child from the relationship.

Objection and appeal

Do you disagree with the municipality's decision on recognizing your child? Then you can ask the court if the municipality made a good decision. This is called "appeal. Do so within 6 weeks.