Acknowledgement and parental authority: what is the difference?

Acknowledgement and parental authority are two different things under Dutch law. Acknowledgement (erkenning) makes you the child’s legal parent; parental authority (ouderlijk gezag) gives you the right to take decisions about the child. Since 1 January 2023 an unmarried partner who acknowledges a child in principle receives both, but for children acknowledged before that date you can still be a legal parent without any authority.

What does acknowledgement do?

Acknowledgement makes you the child’s legal parent, with all the legal ties that come with it. It does not, by itself, give you a say in the child’s upbringing.

The woman who gives birth is automatically the child’s legal parent. Where she is married or in a registered partnership at the birth, her spouse or partner is generally the second legal parent by operation of law (article 1:199 BW for a male spouse or partner).

Where the parents are not married and have no registered partnership, the second parent becomes a legal parent by acknowledging the child at the municipality. Acknowledgement can take place before the birth, at the birth or afterwards.

Acknowledgement creates a legal family relationship with all that follows from it: a maintenance obligation, inheritance rights, and a family law tie with the parent’s relatives.

Whose consent do you need to acknowledge a child?

For a child under 16, you need the prior written consent of the mother. A child aged 12 or older must also give written consent (article 1:204 BW).

Without the required consent, the acknowledgement is void. If the mother refuses, the court can replace her consent at the request of the biological father (verwekker) or of the partner who, as the mother’s life partner, agreed to the act that may have led to the conception (article 1:204 paragraph 3 BW). The court weighs the interests involved, including the relationship between mother and child and the child’s balanced development.

What does parental authority cover?

Parental authority is the right and duty to take decisions about the child. It covers upbringing, schooling, medical treatment, residence and travel, and it includes the administration of the child’s property.

Parents who are married or in a registered partnership with each other hold parental authority jointly from the birth (article 1:251 BW).

Does acknowledgement give you parental authority?

Since 1 January 2023, in principle yes. An unmarried and unregistered partner who acknowledges a child from that date automatically acquires joint parental authority together with the mother.

Before that date, acknowledgement alone was not enough. The parents had to register their joint authority separately in the authority register (gezagsregister). The change only applies to acknowledgements made from 1 January 2023. For a child acknowledged before that date, authority is not acquired retrospectively. If the parents never registered joint authority, the mother still holds authority alone.

There are also exceptions for new acknowledgements. Joint authority does not arise automatically if a guardian (voogd) has authority over the child, if nobody has authority (for example because the mother is a minor), or if the mother already shares authority with someone else.

How do you check and arrange parental authority?

You can check whether joint authority exists in the central authority register (gezagsregister). If it does not exist, both parents can arrange it by a joint request; if one parent refuses, the other can apply to the court.

Where both parents agree, they submit a joint request for registration in the authority register. For children acknowledged before 1 January 2023, this is still the route to joint authority.

Where the mother does not agree, the other parent can ask the district court to grant joint authority (article 1:253c BW). The court rejects the request only if there is an unacceptable risk that the child would become trapped or lost between the parents, without sufficient prospect of improvement in the foreseeable future, or if rejection is otherwise necessary in the child’s interests.

Why does the distinction matter in practice?

A parent without authority is still a legal parent, but cannot take decisions about the child. That gap usually shows only when a concrete decision has to be made.

A legal parent without authority owes maintenance, and the child inherits from that parent. But that parent cannot take decisions about the child’s upbringing, cannot consent to medical treatment and cannot apply for a passport for the child. Nor can they object to the child moving abroad in the way a parent with authority can.

Conversely, contact rights exist independently of authority. A parent without authority still has a right to contact with the child.

An example to illustrate: An unmarried couple had a child in 2021, and the father acknowledged the child at the municipality. They never registered joint authority. When the parents separate and the mother wants to enrol the child in a school in another city, the father finds that he has no say: he is the legal parent, but the mother alone holds authority. To change that, he would have to apply to the court.

What should you check as the acknowledging parent?

• Check the date of the acknowledgement: before or from 1 January 2023.
• Check the authority register (gezagsregister) to see whether joint authority is actually recorded.
• For a child under 16, make sure you have the mother’s written consent, and the child’s own consent from age 12 (article 1:204 BW).
• If joint authority is missing and the mother will not cooperate, consider a court request under article 1:253c BW.

What should you check as the mother?

• Check whether you hold authority alone or jointly, in the authority register.
• Remember that consenting to an acknowledgement from 1 January 2023 in principle means joint authority.
• Check whether a court request for joint authority meets the strict grounds for refusal in article 1:253c BW.
• Keep in mind that contact rights of the other parent exist independently of authority.

What can we do for you with acknowledgement and parental authority?

Our family lawyers advise both parents on acknowledgement, authority and contact.

• We check whether you hold parental authority, based on the acknowledgement date and the authority register.
• We draft a request to the district court to replace the mother’s consent to acknowledgement.
• We file a request for joint authority under article 1:253c BW, or respond to one.
• We advise on contact arrangements and a parenting plan once authority is settled.

Summary

• Acknowledgement makes you the child’s legal parent; parental authority gives you the right to decide about the child.
• For a child under 16 you need the mother’s written consent to acknowledge; the court can replace that consent in certain cases.
• Since 1 January 2023, an unmarried partner who acknowledges a child in principle automatically acquires joint authority with the mother.
• For children acknowledged before that date, joint authority must still be registered or requested from the court.
• You can check the authority register to see whether joint authority actually exists.

Frequently asked questions