Parental authority

Are you the biological mother? If so, you will automatically obtain parental authority. 

• Sole parental authority. If you are neither married nor in a civil partnership, you will be given sole parental authority. 
• Joint parental authority. If you are married or in a civil partnership: 
  • in all cases with your male partner; 
  • with your female partner if the donor is unknown pursuant to the Wet donorgegevens kunstmatige bevruchting [Human Fertilisation (Donor Information) Act]; 
  • your female partner if the donor is known and does not acknowledge parenthood of the child. 
• Joint parental authority. If you are neither married nor in a civil partnership: 
  • if the person who acknowledged parenthood of the child did so on or after 1 January 2023 and there is no exceptional situation. 

You will not get parental authority if you:

• are a minor (see exception below); 
• are under guardianship; 
• have a mental disorder that prevents you from having parental authority.

• Are you the biological mother and 16 or 17 years of age? If so, apply for a declaration of age of majority (in Dutch) as an underage mother to get parental authority over your child. You will need a lawyer for this situation. 
  
• Are you the biological mother and under the age of 16? In that case, the child gets a guardian (in Dutch) until you reach the age of 18. A guardian is a non-parent who has parental authority.
  

• Are you married to, or in a civil partnership with, the mother at the time of the child’s birth? If so, you will automatically obtain joint parental authority. For a 'duomoeder' (the female partner of the birth mother) (rijksoverheid.nl, in Dutch), this only applies if the donor is unknown pursuant to the Wet donorgegevens kunstmatige bevruchting [Human Fertilisation (Donor Information) Act] and a declaration under this Act has been submitted to the birth registry. 
• Are you going to marry or enter into a civil partnership with the mother after the child is born? If so, you will automatically obtain joint parental authority. However, that is under the condition that you have acknowledged parenthood of the child (in Dutch). 
• As a non-parent, are you married to, or in a civil partnership with, the mother at the time of the child’s birth? Then you will only get joint parental authority if there is no other parent (rijksoverheid.nl, in Dutch). 
• Are you neither married to, nor in a civil partnership with, the mother at the time of the child’s birth? And did you acknowledge parenthood of the child (whether born or unborn) before 1 January 2023? (in Dutch) Then you can apply for joint parental authority with the mother using a form, without needing a lawyer. 
• Are you neither married to, nor in a civil partnership with, the mother at the time of the child’s birth? And did you acknowledge parenthood of the child (whether born or unborn) after 1 January 2023? (in Dutch) If so, you will automatically share parental authority with the mother, unless any of the exceptions apply.

‘Parents’ means the legal parents. This does not necessarily mean the child’s biological parents.

According to the law, the child’s mother is:

• the woman who gave birth to the child;
• the woman who has adopted the child;
• the woman who has acknowledged parenthood of the child;
• the woman whose parenthood has been determined by a court.

If the child has been conceived through artificial insemination by an unknown donor (pursuant to the Wet donorgegevens kunstmatige bevruchting [Human Fertilisation (Donor Information) Act]), the woman whom the biological mother is married to, or in a civil partnership with, at the time of birth, is also the mother of the child.

According to the law, the child’s father is:

• the man who is married to, or in a civil partnership with, the mother at the time of the birth of the child; 
• the man who has adopted the child; 
• the man who has acknowledged parenthood of the child; 
• the man whose parenthood has been determined by a court.

With parental authority, one or both parents have parental responsibility. With guardianship, a person other than the parent or an institution has parental responsibility. You can have parental authority over a child if you are at least 18 years of age, unless: 

• you are placed under guardianship; or 
• you have a mental disorder that prevents you from having parental authority.
  

After a divorce, you will continue to share joint parental authority. Do you not want that? Then you can apply for sole parental authority through a parental authority petition procedure. The judge only assigns sole parental authority if no other solution is available. In parental authority petition procedures: 

• a lawyer is mandatory; 
• the judge determines which parent obtains sole parental authority over each child; 
• the judge always considers what is in the child’s best interests; 
• if the child over 12 years of age, the judge asks them for their opinion (in Dutch).
  

• In the case of joint parental authority: the surviving parent is granted parental authority. 
• In the case of sole parental authority: the other parent or another person obtains parental authority (e.g. the grandparents or a new partner). This will be determined by the court. 
• If both parents die, the judge will determine who will become the child’s guardian (non-parent with parental authority). You can designate someone in your will or in the gezagsregister.
  

Parental authority ends when the child reaches the age of 18. You will still have to support the child until they turn 21. In certain cases, the judge will terminate parental authority at the request of the Raad van de Kinderbescherming (Child Care and Protection Board). This can happen if the court finds that you are not in a position to take responsibility to raise and care for your child. A lawyer will get in touch with you, free of charge.

When does my parental authority over a child end? (rijksoverheid.nl, in Dutch)

Are you the biological mother and 16 or 17 years of age? You can ask the court for a meerderjarigheidsverklaring (declaration of age of majority) (in Dutch) as an underage mother. A minor father cannot apply for parental authority.

After 2 weeks, you will receive an extract from the gezagsregister at the address where the child is registered. From that moment on, you have joint parental authority of your child.

If you submit the application online, it is free of charge. If you apply by post, you will have to pay for certain municipal documents.