Currently, the birth of a child outside of an officially registered marriage is a common everyday situation. Despite the absence of stamps in the parents’ passports, after being discharged from the maternity hospital, the baby needs documents, like any citizen. The law allows you to register and protect the rights of a child born to parents out of wedlock in almost any situation.

How to register a child if the parents are not married?

A newborn can be registered at the request of the mother. If she is not married, then her last name is indicated in the “father” column, and her patronymic is optional. If there is no information about the second parent, there will be a dash on the certificate.

According to Part 3 of Art. 48 of the RF IC, the paternity of a person to whom the mother is not married is indicated on the basis of a joint statement of the parents in the presence of a man. Taking into account the variety of life situations, a mechanism is provided for making a record about the father if the mother has died, been declared incompetent, her whereabouts are unknown, etc.

It is possible to issue a birth certificate with a record of paternity even years later if the mother applies to the registry office together with the child’s father.

Submitting an application together with your common-law spouse

If a child is born in a civil marriage, both parents, in order to register the newborn, present the following documents to the registry office during the first month of life:

• birth statement (drawn up by the mother or her authorized representative);
• application to establish paternity (drawn up jointly).

In a joint application, common-law spouses can indicate what surname they wish to assign to the newborn. The main thing is that the man recognizes the child as his own. If problems arise with choosing a child’s name (for example, the desired name is not in the dictionary of personal names of civil registry office employees), to assign an unusual name, you must obtain permission from the guardianship and trusteeship authority at the place of residence.

Unlike the birth registration itself, the establishment of paternity is not limited by specific deadlines. This procedure can be carried out later than a month through the civil registry office or in court.

If there are ready-made applications, the mother and father with passports and a receipt for payment of the state fee for registering the establishment of paternity apply to the registry office. If changes are made to a previously issued birth certificate and a new document is issued, a state fee must be paid for these actions.

A declaration of paternity can be filed while a woman is pregnant. The law allows this if there is sufficient concern that after the birth of the child it will be impossible or difficult (for example, in the event of arrest).

Currently, registration is practiced through the State Services website. The applicant or his authorized representative enters the details of the documents according to the list into the database. The system processes all application data and sends requests to government agencies to verify information and register. At the appointed time, you must visit the registry office to put the necessary signatures and pick up the completed documents.

An officially registered citizen of Russia has the right to claim inheritance, including that of his father and other relatives. Thanks to the recognition of the child by the father, his parents become grandparents with the corresponding rights: to see him, take part in his upbringing, development, maintenance, etc.

Filing a claim initiated by the father

If the mother refuses to officially recognize the paternity of the newborn child, Russian legislation provides for the possibility of establishing this fact at the request of the man. According to the Family Code of the Russian Federation, every child has a father and mother, who are equally responsible for his development and upbringing. If disagreements arise between them, paternity can be established in court at the request of the father.

Today, the issue of establishing paternity is resolved not only on the basis of the testimony of third parties who confirmed the existence of a relationship between the plaintiff and the defendant, but also based on the results of a genetic examination. A request for an examination is submitted by the plaintiff.

Official registration of marriage

The traditional and easiest way to register a child is to do it after the official marriage of the parents. Couples who are aware of their responsibility and act in the best interests of their children strengthen their relationship in accordance with the law. A stamp in the parents’ passport gives the young citizen financial and property guarantees in the event of divorce or death of one of the parents.

The status of being officially recognized and born in wedlock is of great importance in a person's life. If there is a stamp in the passport, the child’s father’s last name will be given automatically.

The procedure for assigning a surname to a child if the parents are not married

The child was born, and to register him, in the absence of a marriage stamp, both parents go to the registry office (see also:). If they are not written down, then in order to give the child the father’s surname, you need:

1. passports of both common-law spouses;
2. certificates from the maternity hospital;
3. joint declaration of recognition of paternity.

By joint decision of the parents, the child may bear the mother’s surname even after paternity has been established. With the introduction of genetic examinations, the process of assigning the appropriate blood name has been significantly simplified. Establishing a relationship is possible without genetic tests, including in adulthood.

Should a natural parent adopt a natural child?

Adoption is a form family education children left without parental care. A living blood father who wishes to fulfill parental responsibilities must recognize the fact of kinship. If the birth certificate was issued in the absence of a natural parent, and in the “father” column there is the mother’s surname or a dash, then assigning the father’s surname is a mechanical question. Both common-law spouses need to contact the civil registry office.

If the child’s mother objects to the assignment of the father’s surname, then the man will have to defend his rights in court. Blood child there is no need to adopt, it is enough to recognize the fact of kinship with him. In this case, the man serves statement of claim to establish paternity in court.

If the parents of a newborn child are not married to each other, then the entry about the child’s mother is made at the request of the mother, and the entry about the child’s father is made at the joint request of the child’s father and mother, or at the request of the child’s father (in some cases), or by court decision (clause 2 of article 51 of the RF IC).

Also recognized as father ex-spouse without a statement from the child’s father in the following cases: if the child was born within 300 days from the date of divorce, recognition of it as invalid, or from the date of death of the spouse of the child’s mother, unless proven otherwise. The paternity of the spouse of the child's mother is certified by a record of their marriage (clause 2 of article 48 of the RF IC).

Information about the child's father is entered:

• based on the record of the act of establishing paternity - if paternity is established and registered simultaneously with the state registration of the child’s birth;
• at the request of the child's mother - if paternity has not been established. The surname of the child's father is written according to the mother's surname, the first and patronymic of the child's father - according to her instructions. The information entered is not an obstacle to resolving the issue of establishing paternity. At the request of the mother, information about the child’s father may not be included in the child’s birth certificate (clause 3 of article 51 of the RF IC; clause 3 of article 17 of the Law of November 15, 1997 N 143-FZ).

Note. Disagreements between parents regarding the choice of the child’s surname or first name are resolved by the guardianship and trusteeship authority ( clause 4 art. 58 RF IC).

If the child’s father does not want to register his paternity or if the mother does not agree to register paternity, then paternity or the fact of recognition of paternity (if the child’s father has died) can be established in court (Article 49, RF IC).

If the father and mother of the child wish to register the birth of the child and establish paternity, we recommend following the following algorithm.

Step 1: Get it Required documents to register the birth and prepare an application for the birth of the child

After the birth of a child, his mother in the maternity hospital will be issued a medical certificate of birth of the child, which will be the basis for registering the birth of the child with the civil registry office.

If the marriage between the child's parents is not concluded, the application for the birth of the child is submitted by the mother. The application indicates the surname, first name and patronymic of the child, as well as information about the entry or failure to enter information about the child’s father into the birth certificate and into the birth certificate.

Step 2. Prepare a joint application to the registry office to establish paternity

If the parents have agreed among themselves that paternity will be established in the registry office, they should both fill out a joint application from the father and mother of the child, who are not married to each other at the time of the child’s birth, to establish paternity and submit it to the registry office.

If the father or mother is not able to submit such an application in person (for example, due to arrest), they need to prepare separate applications on behalf of each (paragraph 1, paragraph 5, article 50 of Law N 143-FZ). In this case, the signature of the parent who cannot come in person is confirmed by a notary or a person with appropriate authority, including the head of the place of detention (paragraph 2, paragraph 5, article 50 of Law No. 143-FZ).

In addition, it is possible to submit a preliminary application to establish paternity while the child’s mother is pregnant. This is possible if there are circumstances that give reason to assume that filing a joint application to establish paternity may turn out to be impossible or difficult after the birth of the child (paragraph 2, paragraph 3, article 48 of the RF IC).

It is also possible to establish paternity on the sole application of the father in certain cases (death of the mother, recognition of her as incompetent, impossibility of establishing her whereabouts or deprivation of her parental rights) with the consent of the guardianship and trusteeship authority, in the absence of such consent - by court decision (paragraph 1 p. 3 Article 48 RF IC).

Step 3. Contact the registry office for state registration

The application for the birth of a child must be made no later than one month from the date of birth of the child. There is no specific deadline for filing an application to establish paternity, since such an application can be submitted both during state registration of the birth of a child and after (clause 6 of article 16, clause 2 of article 50 of Law No. 143-FZ).

In practice, the deadline for filing an application for the birth of a child is not significant; there are no sanctions for late submission. Moreover, state registration of the birth of a child who has reached the age of one year or more is possible, including upon reaching adulthood (Article 21 of Law No. 143-FZ).

You should contact the registry office with passports, applications, a receipt for payment of the state fee for registration of paternity, as well as for making changes and issuing a new birth certificate if paternity is established later than the state registration of birth. An application for the birth of a child and a joint application for establishing paternity can be sent to the civil registry office in the form of an electronic document via the Internet (

according to the Federal Law on Civil Status Acts:

Article 17. Procedure for entering information about parents into the child’s birth certificate

1. A father and mother who are married to each other are recorded by the parents in the child’s birth certificate upon the application of either of them. *17.1.1)

Information about the child’s mother is entered into the child’s birth certificate on the basis of the documents specified in Article 14 of this Federal Law, information about the child’s father - based on the parents’ marriage certificate. *17.1.2)

2. If the marriage between the child’s parents is dissolved, declared invalid by the court, or if the spouse has died, but no more than three hundred days have passed from the date of dissolution of the marriage, recognition of it as invalid, or from the date of death of the spouse to the day of birth of the child, information about the child’s mother is entered in recording the act of his birth in the manner established by paragraph 1 of this article, information about the child’s father - on the basis of the parents’ marriage certificate or other document confirming the fact of state registration of the marriage, as well as a document confirming the fact and time of termination of the marriage. *17.2)

3. If the child’s parents are not married to each other, information about the mother is entered into the child’s birth certificate in the manner prescribed by paragraph 1 of this article. *17.3.1)

In this case, information about the child’s father is entered:

on the basis of the record of the act of establishing paternity if paternity is established and registered simultaneously with the state registration of the birth of the child; *17.3.3)

at the request of the child’s mother if paternity has not been established. The surname of the child's father is written down according to the mother's surname, the first and patronymic of the child's father - according to her instructions. The information entered is not an obstacle to resolving the issue of establishing paternity. At the request of the mother, information about the child’s father may not be included in the child’s birth certificate.*17.3.4)

Article 18. Recording the child’s last name, first name and patronymic during state registration of birth

1. When registering a birth with the state, the child’s surname is recorded according to the surname of his parents. If the parents have different surnames, the child's surname is written according to the father's surname or the mother's surname by agreement of the parents. *18.1)

2. The child's name is recorded by agreement of the parents.

3. In the absence of an agreement between the parents, the child’s name and (or) his surname (if the parents have different surnames) are recorded in the child’s birth certificate at the direction of the guardianship and trusteeship authority. *18.3)

4. The child’s patronymic is recorded using the father’s name, unless otherwise based on national custom. *18.4)

5. If the mother is not married to the child’s father and paternity of the child has not been established, the child’s first name is recorded according to the mother’s wishes, the patronymic name - according to the name of the person indicated in the birth certificate record as the child’s father, the child’s last name - according to mother's surname. *18.5.1)

If, at the request of a mother who is not married to the child’s father, information about the child’s father is not included in the birth record, the child’s patronymic is recorded at the direction of the mother.

6. If the law of the subject Russian Federation, based on the norms of the Family Code of the Russian Federation, a different procedure is provided for assigning a surname and determining the patronymic of a child; the recording of the child’s surname and patronymic during state registration of birth is carried out in accordance with the law of the subject of the Russian Federation.

Hello, Elena!

In accordance with Art. 17 and art. Art. 48-50 of the Law on Civil Status Acts If the child's parents are not married to each other, Information about the child's father entered into the child's birth certificate on the basis of: a record of the act of establishing paternity if paternity is established and registered simultaneously with the state registration of the child’s birth;

at the request of the child’s mother if paternity has not been established. The surname of the child's father is written down according to the mother's surname, the first and patronymic of the child's father - according to her instructions. The information entered is not an obstacle to resolving the issue of establishing paternity. At the request of the mother, information about the child’s father may not be included in the child’s birth certificate.

That is, you have the right to make an entry about the Father at your request or on the basis of established paternity.

The basis for state registration of paternity establishment is:

a joint statement establishing the paternity of the father and mother of the child who were not married at the time of the child’s birth.

A joint application to establish paternity of the child’s father and mother, who are not married to each other at the time of the child’s birth, is submitted by them in writing to the civil registry office. A joint application to establish paternity can be submitted during state registration of the child’s birth, as well as after state registration of the birth of a child. If there is reason to believe that filing a joint application to establish paternity after the birth of a child may be impossible or difficult, the future father and mother of the child, who are not married at the time of the child’s birth, may file such an application during the mother’s pregnancy. If there is such an application, state registration of establishing paternity is carried out simultaneously with the state registration of the birth of the child and a new application is not required if, before the state registration of the birth of the child, the previously submitted application was not withdrawn by the father or mother. State registration of establishing paternity is carried out by the civil registry office at the place of residence the father or mother of the child who are not married to each other at the time of the child’s birth, or at the place of state registration of the child’s birth.

Therefore, you should file a special joint petition to establish paternity. Based on the act of establishing paternity, at the birth of the child, the father will be included in the Birth Certificate.

At the same time, if the father is indicated on the Birth Certificate, then you do not acquire the status of a single mother.

I can provide a service for drawing up an Application to establish paternity in accordance with the requirements of the law.

Sincerely, F. Tamara

What to name a child is a common question for a family in which a newborn has appeared or is about to appear. But in addition to coming up with a name for a boy or a girl, sometimes you have to decide the issue of the surname that the child will bear. How to register a newborn correctly and what surname can he be given?

My husband and I are officially married, but we have different last names. Very soon a baby is due to be born into our family. Under whose surname would it be more correct to register a newborn? Can we give a child a double surname made up of the mother's and father's surnames?

The law gives you the right to independently, by mutual consent, choose whose surname the newborn will bear - mom's or dad's. But, unfortunately, it is impossible to give the baby a double surname consisting of the surnames of the parents. This is not provided for by the legislation of the Russian Federation. If you still have time before the birth of your child and you want to give him a double surname, I suggest you do the following. Let one of the spouses (if desired, both spouses) take and register the desired double surname for themselves. In this case, it can be given to the born child.

The child was born when my husband and I were legally married. That is why I registered the baby under the father’s last name. We recently got divorced, and I want to change the child’s last name - register him under my own maiden name. Is it possible to do this?

A child's surname can be changed subject to the consent of both parents. This is stated in Article 59 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation. Therefore, if you continue to communicate with the child’s father, talk to him, get consent and change the baby’s last name. This is the simplest option. However, if for some reason you have stopped communicating with the child’s father, then it will be useful for you to know about some relaxations in the law and about those cases when it is possible to change the surname without the consent of the other parent:

• the second parent has been deprived of parental rights;
• the location of the second parent is unknown;
• the child's father evades timely payment;
• the child's father avoids raising the child;
• the child was born out of wedlock.

If it was not possible to come to an agreement with the child’s father, and also to convince the guardianship and trusteeship authorities that there is a real need to change the child’s surname, you should go to court.

Can a mother register her newborn child under the name of a man who denies paternity? After all, if a father does not recognize a child, this does not mean at all that he does not have one.

If paternity has not been established, the child's surname is recorded using the mother's surname. In this case, parents can give the surname of mom or dad as they wish, even if they are not married. If paternity is not recognized at the birth of a child, they first give the mother’s last name, and then, after paternity is recognized and, if desired, change it to the father’s last name. You can insist that paternity be established in court. At the same time, according to Article 49 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation, the court takes into account any evidence that reliably confirms the origin of the child from a specific person.