Summary
Acknowledgement is an official act that establishes a link of paternity, maternity, or co-maternity between a person and a child.
Acknowledgement is made at the civil registry office of a municipality or before a notary public.
Prospective parents must appear before the civil registrar and have their intention to acknowledge their child officially recorded. The competent civil registrar is either the one of the municipality where the mother plans to give birth, or the one of the residence of one of the parents if they do not live at the same address. If you are not married and have not made an acknowledgement before birth, you can establish the paternity or co-maternity at the time of the birth registration.
In detail
Since the Royal Decree of 21 December 2022 with effect from 24 March 2023, the acknowledgement declaration can be made electronically via a secure platform set up for your municipality. However, your municipality might not have this option. If you wish to make an electronic declaration, contact your municipality to check whether this is possible.
Ad hoc documents may be submitted electronically. However, the original documents must then be sent to the competent civil registrar.
Proof of receipt will be sent to the declarant(s) once the requested documents are submitted and complete.
If the civil registrar considers themselves insufficiently apprised of the situation, they may ask the declarant(s) to appear before the registrar in person within a deadline set by the registrar.
According to the standard procedure, it is mandatory that both parents be present.
When the acknowledgement is made before birth:
Documents required
- A medical certificate of pregnancy indicating the expected date of delivery;
- The parents’ identity documents;
- Proof of the parents’ nationality (the document is not required if the person is registered in Belgium in the National Register or the Foreigners’ Register);
- Proof of the parents’ residence (document not required if the person is registered in Belgium in the Population Register or the Register of Foreign Nationals);
- Proof of the parents’ civil status (document not required if the person is registered in Belgium in the Population Register or the Register of Foreign Nationals);
- Any other authentic document showing that the prospective father or co-parent meets the legal requirements to acknowledge a child.
All these documents must be legalised or apostilled, and translated by a sworn translator, if necessary, and must be recent.
When the acknowledgement is made after birth:
This can be done at any time, regardless of the child’s age. If the father has never acknowledged his child, he can make the declaration several months or even years later before the civil registrar of the municipality where the child resides.
Please note that the acknowledgement of paternity will always require the mother’s consent. If the mother objects, there is a legal procedure that allows you to override the mother’s refusal and authorise the acknowledgement. If the child is over 12 years old, their consent must also be obtained.
In this case, an additional document is required, specifically the child’s birth certificate.
This is free of charge.
The acknowledgement can take place before or after birth:
- before birth. The law does not stipulate a minimum period of pregnancy. All that is required is a doctor’s certificate confirming the pregnancy which mentions the expected due date.
- when the birth is registered.
After birth, in the majority of cases, there are no time limits. If the child has reached the age of 12, the parent in respect of whom filiation has been established and the child must both give their consent. The consent of the child is sufficient in the case of acknowledgement of an adult child or an emancipated minor.