Paternity Acknowledgement: General Information for Mothers

Do you have or are you going to have a child and the child's father does not want to acknowledge his paternity or is unknown? Then you can get advice and support.

Detailed description

If you have a child and are not married to the child's father, he does not automatically become the legal father. In this case, he must acknowledge paternity voluntarily. If the father does not acknowledge paternity voluntarily, or if it is unclear who the father is, paternity can be established in court. You can seek advice on this matter. You can also receive support in establishing paternity.


Once paternity has been established, you can clarify further matters:

  • Child support claims
  • The mother's maintenance claims
  • Custody
  • The child's inheritance rights
  • Granting of the father's name

You can also apply for legal guardianship to establish paternity. Legal guardianship is a special form of legal representation for children and young people. The responsible authority can then legally represent the child in the relevant proceedings and thus relieve you of this burden. For example, it can...

  • request the father to acknowledge paternity and provide the necessary documents,
  • initiate legal proceedings to clarify paternity,
  • Calculate your child's maintenance entitlement,
  • regularly review the maintenance claim,
  • to draw up a document regarding maintenance payments,
  • to enforce the maintenance claim in court,
  • to collect and monitor alimony payments,
  • Determine the whereabouts and employer of the parent liable for maintenance and
  • Enforcement measures

initiate.


You can apply for legal guardianship even before the child's birth if you are not married and have not submitted joint declarations of parental responsibility. After the birth, you can apply for legal guardianship at any time until the child reaches the age of majority. This does not affect your parental rights.



You can terminate the guardianship at any time by submitting a written declaration. It ends automatically when the child reaches the age of majority. The child can then continue to seek advice and support independently until their 21st birthday.

 

Information

Prerequisites

  • The recognition and approval must be publicly certified.
  • Acknowledgement of paternity can be made at any registry office, district court, youth welfare office, or notary's office.
  • Recognition is not subject to receipt and does not require acceptance by a specific registry office or other authority to be effective.
  • The prohibition of abusive acknowledgment of paternity applies in accordance with § 1597a of the German Civil Code (BGB).
  • An acknowledgment of paternity of a child is not effective as long as the paternity of another man exists (blocking effect).
  • Acknowledgement subject to conditions or time limits is invalid.
  • There must be no effective revocation by the acknowledging party.
  • Recognition requires the mother's consent.
  • Recognition also requires the child's consent if the mother does not have parental custody in this respect.
  • The validity of a declaration of paternity does not depend on the actual parentage; (legal) paternity arises solely from the valid submission of the declaration of acknowledgment and all necessary declarations of consent. Acknowledgment of paternity can also be made before the child's birth.
  • Those with limited legal capacity can only acknowledge a declaration themselves, but require the consent of their legal representative. For those lacking legal capacity, the legal representative can acknowledge a declaration with the approval of the family court; if the legal representative is a guardian, the approval of the guardianship court is required.
  • The same regulations apply to the mother's consent.
  • For a child who is legally incapacitated, or a child who is not yet 14 years old, only the legal representative can consent to the recognition.
  • Acknowledgments or approvals cannot be declared by an authorized person.

Documents required

  • Proof of identity for both parents (ID cards/passports)
  • Proof of the existing pregnancy (one page of the maternity record, certificate from the doctor)

Deadlines

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 (postmortem recognition) and also for stillborn children.

Procedure

The appreciative man declares that he is the father of the child. The notary must check the declaration of recognition in order to prevent ineffective recognition as far as possible. In particular, the following is checked:

  • The identity of the acknowledger, the mother and the child
  • The business capacity of those involved
  • The mother's marital status
  • The notarizing person provides information about the rights and obligations of paternity and the legal consequences of acknowledging paternity. The acknowledgment is publicly certified.

Processing time

The certification takes approx. 20-30 minutes.


In difficult individual cases, e.g. where interpreters are involved or there is a high need for advice, this will take longer.

Fees

no

Legal remedies

none

Legal basis

Section 59 of Book Eight of the Social Code (SGB VIII)


https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_8/__59.html

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Last updated: 14.04.2026