Content

Paternity - If you are married
Paternity before the child is born - if you are not married
Paternity after birth and until the child is 28 days old - if you are not married
  Online declaration
  Declaration on paper
If the child is more than 28 days old
Sole custody
Co-motherhood in assisted reproduction
Co-motherhood with known father
Paternity of a child who died shortly after birth, stillbirth or miscarriage

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Children born in Denmark must have a father/co-mother registered in the CPR as a main rule. This is important because paternity/co-maternity confers a number of rights and duties on both the child and the father/co-mother.

Paternity - If you are married

If you are married (and the couple consists of a woman and man) when your child is born, the father is automatically registered at the birth registration of your child, and you both have shared custody.

> Read more about birth registration if the mother lives in Denmark
> Read more about birth registration if the mother lives outside of Denmark

Paternity before the child is born - if you are not married

You can complete the Care and Responsibility Declaration for Paternity online on borger.dk with MitID before the child is born. The declaration is automatically sent to the Agency of Family Law, who will process the case.

> Complete the Care and Responsibility Declaration for Paternity online with MitID
> Find step-by-step guide to complete the Care and Responsibility Declaration online

If you cannot complete it online with MitID, you can use a declaration on paper.

> Find and download the Care and Responsibility for Paternity Declaration on paper (pdf.)

You will receive a decision from the Agency of Family Law in your Digital Post.

Once the child is born, you must deliver a copy of the decision to the mother's registrar:

• If the mother lives in Denmark, the registrar is the local parish
• If the mother lives in the Southern part of Jutland, the registrar is the municipality in the Southern part of Jutland who registered the birth
• If you do not live in Denmark, you must deliver it to the parish near the hospital.

The registrar does not automatically receive a notification from the Agency of Family Law.

> Find more help to search your registrar
> Look up any words and terms that you are not familiar with

Paternity after birth and until the child is 28 days old - if you are not married

If you are not married, and you wish to register the father in CPR you must ensure to complete and deliver a Care and Responsibility Declaration for Paternity before your child is 28 days old.

Online declaration

You can apply online by completing the Care and Responsibility Declaration on borger.dk. You must both sign the declaration with your MitID. The declaration is automatically sent to the mother's local parish. If the mother lives in the Southern part of Jutland, it is automatically sent to the municipality in the Southern part of Jutland who registered the birth.

> Complete the Care and Responsibility Declaration for Paternity online with MitID
> Find your registrar
> Look up any words and terms that you are not familiar with

Declaration on paper

If you cannot use MitID, you can complete a declaration on paper and send it to the mother's parish of residence or to the mother’s municipality of residence in the Southern part of Jutland.
You will both be notified by your registrar when paternity and joint custody are registered in the CPR.

> Find and download the Care and Responsibility for Paternity Declaration on paper (pdf.)
> Look up any words and terms that you are not familiar with

If the child is more than 28 days old

If you have not completed and delivered the Care and Responsibility Declaration for Paternity to the mother's registrar within 28 days of the birth, a notification will be forwarded on your child’s birth to the Agency of Family Law.

As soon as the Agency of Family Law receives the notification, they will send a letter to the mother’s Digital Post that includes a link leading to the online Care and Responsibility Declaration.

Sole custody

If the mother is going to have sole custody, the Care and Responsibility Declaration for Paternity should not be completed, and the mother will be contacted by the Agency of Family Law when the child is more than 28 days old. Advise: contact your registrar and inform them that there is no other parent for quicker administration at the Agency of Family Law.

> Find your registrar
> Find contact information to the Agency of Family Law

Co-motherhood in assisted reproduction

When two women have a child together using assisted reproduction (donor), the woman who gives birth will automatically be registered as the child's mother. This takes place when the mother's registrar receives the notice of birth from the midwife. The other woman may be registered as the child's co-mother. When you apply for co-motherhood, it makes a difference whether you are married or not and whether you have used an anonymous or known donor.

> Read about co-motherhood in assisted reproduction at the Agency of Family Law (in Danish only)
> Read about co-motherhood on lifeindenmark.dk
> Read more about birth registration if the mother lives in Denmark
> Read more about birth registration if the mother lives outside of Denmark
> Look up any words and terms that you are not familiar with

Co-motherhood with known father

If you are two women who are going to have shared custody, and you know who the father is, the Agency of Family Law must process the case on co-motherhood.

> Read about co-motherhood on lifeindenmark.dk

Paternity of a child who died shortly after birth, stillbirth or miscarriage

> Read the article 'Child dead shortly after birth/dead child/miscarriage'

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Other relevant links

Read about paternity, co-maternity and parental custody on lifeindenmark.dk