Declaration of care and responsibility for paternity

You can submit a declaration of care and responsibility for the paternity of your child, meaning that paternity is registered, which in turn means that you get joint custody. You should only use the declaration of care and responsibility if you are not married.

You can complete the digital declaration either before the birth or within 28 days of the child being born. If the child is more than 28 days old, you can no longer use this solution, and the child’s mother will receive a letter from the Agency of Family Law via Digital Post with information on how to register paternity.

If you wish to co-sign a declaration of care and responsibility that has already been completed by the other parent within 28 days of the child’s birth, you can sign the completed application here.

How to

You must complete, sign with MitID and submit the application digitally. You must use the other parent’s CPR (Central Population Registry) number and email address so that the declaration can be forwarded to them for digital signature. Joint custody does not take effect until you have received confirmation of the declaration of care and responsibility in your Digital Post.

You must have this information and these documents ready when completing the declaration:

  • CPR number and email address of the other parent.
  • CPR number of the child – or the expected date of birth if the child has not been born yet.
  • If the mother’s marital status has been changed by a foreign authority: attach an appendix in the form of a certificate or similar documentation.

Contact info

Who handles the case? 

You can declare paternity of your child both before and after its birth. 

If you declare paternity in the first 28 days after the birth, the parish where the mother lives will deal with the case. For children born in Southern Jutland, however, it is the municipality of residence. 

If you declare paternity before the birth or later than 28 days after the birth, the Agency of Family Law will deal with the case.