Acknowledgment of maternity

The acknowledgment of maternity can be submitted to any state office, youth welfare offices and notaries.

• The appreciative woman declares to be the mother of the child.
• The registrar must check the declaration of recognition in order to prevent ineffective recognitions as far as possible.
• In particular, the following will be examined:
• The identity of the acknowledgment, the mother and the child
• The legal capacity of the parties involved
• Any previous status determinations
• The registrar will explain the legal consequences of the name.
• The recognition is publicly notarized

The responsibility lies with the municipalities, the joint municipalities and the city.

• The recognition must be publicly notarized.
• The acknowledgment of maternity can be submitted at any state office, youth welfare offices and notaries.
• The recognition and consent do not need to be received and do not need to be received by a specific registry office or other authority in order to be effective.
• Recognition of maternity only applies in cases where the parentage of a child of parents who are not married to each other is governed by the law of the country in which the child has his or her habitual residence or, alternatively, by the law of the mother's country of origin.

If the foreign home law requires the mother or father to acknowledge maternity, this is publicly notarized. The same rules apply as for acknowledgment of paternity.

• Recognition under conditions or time determination is ineffective.
• Recognition also requires the consent of the child if the mother is not entitled to parental custody in this respect.
• Anyone who is limited in legal capacity can only acknowledge themselves, but requires the consent of their legal representative. In the case of incapacitated persons, the legal representative may acknowledge with the permission of the family court; if the legal representative is a guardian, the approval of the guardianship court is required.
• For a child who is legally incapacitated, or a child who is not yet 14 years old, only the legal representative can agree to the recognition.
• Acknowledgments or consents cannot be declared by an authorized person.

Proof of identity (e.g. identity card, passport, ID card)

• The declaration of recognition can be made for an unlimited period of time, even before the birth of the child (prenatal recognition), after the child's death (post-mortem recognition) as well as for stillborn children.

• Depending on the individual case

• Art. 19 para. 1 sentence 1 EGBGB
• § 27 PStG
• Section 44 of the Civil Status Act (PStG)
• §§ 1591 to 1599 BGB

at the registry office

If the registry office refuses to certify the declaration of recognition, you can file an application with the competent court to instruct the registry office to issue you with the certificate.

Lower Saxony Ministry of the Interior and Sports

23.11.2020

The text was automatically translated based on the German content.