How to
Declare paternity
About declaring paternity digitally
Before the father can declare paternity digitally, you, as the mother, must specify who the father is in the digital declaration. You can specify who the father is from gestational week 22. You can also wait until after the child is born. The digital solution is available until the child is 6 months old.
This means that you, as the mother, must begin filling out the declaration, by specifying who the father of the child is. If the father logs in before you have specified that he is the father, he will not be able to declare paternity.
In order to declare paternity digitally, the following conditions apply:
- The child must be born, or be expected to be born, in Norway
- The mother must be unmarried and living in Norway
- You must both have a Norwegian national identity number
- You must both be over 18 years old.
- The pregnancy must have proceeded to at least gestational week 22
- The child must be less than 6 months old
How to complete the prosess
1. The mother names the father:
- The mother logs on to the paternity declaration page
- The mother specifies the due date
- The mother specifies the father’s name and national identity number (11 digits)
- The mother confirms that the person named is the father of the child
2. The father declares paternity:
- The father receives a message from the mother or Nav, with a link to the paternity page
- The father logs on and verifies that the information is correct
- The father declares that he is aware of the legal effects of declaring paternity
- The father signs the declaration
3. The declaration is sent to the National Population Register for registration and archiving.
1. The mother names the father
- The mother logs on to the paternity declaration page
- The mother selects the child whose father she wants to name
- The mother specifies the father’s name and national identity number (11 digits)
- The mother confirms that the person named is the child’s father
2. The father declares paternity
- The father receives a message from the mother or Nav, with a link to the paternity page
- The father logs on and verifies that the information is correct
- The father declares that he is aware of the legal effects of declaring paternity
- The father signs the declaration
3. The declaration is sent to the National Population Register for registration and archiving.
Paternity can be declared digitally by both parents identifying themselves electronically in a secure manner and signing a digital declaration.
Paternity status grants rights to both the child and the father. In addition, paternity status also entails some duties for you as the father.
The term parental responsibility encompasses the rights and duties parents have to make decisions for and about the child in matters that concern them. The parents shall exercise parental responsibility based on the child’s needs and interests. The persons who have parental responsibility are also the child’s guardians.
For children born after 1 January 2020, the mother and father will have joint parental responsibility. This applies to children whose parents
- are married
- live together
- do not live together
If the mother is requesting sole parental responsibility, she must notify the National Population Register within one year of the date on which paternity was established. If the father is opposed to this, and wants parental responsibility, he must initiate legal action.
If the father does not want parental responsibility, he must notify the National Population Register within one year of the date on which paternity was established.
Parents who have parental responsibility may select the child’s name. The name registration must be sent to the National Population Register.
If the parents do not register a last name within 6 months after the child’s birth, the child will automatically be registered with the mother’s last name.
Once paternity has been established, the child is granted inheritance rights as an heir or their father.
The child has a right to contact with both parents even when the parents do not live together. The parents have mutual responsibility for making sure the child’s right to visiting arrangements is upheld.
If the parents cannot agree, they may bring the matter before a court.
The child has a right to be supported by both parents, even when the parents do not live together. This right lapses at the end of the calendar month the child turns 18 years old. After the child turns 18 years old, the child may be entitled to support through upper secondary education.
- If the parents do not live together, the non-custodial parent must help support the child by paying child support.
- Child support is normally a private matter, and it is up to the parents to decide on the amount and other provisions in their agreement. If the parents cannot agree, they may request that Nav fix the child support amount.
- In cases where the parents do not live together at the time of the child’s birth, and no agreement concerning child support has been established, Nav will set a child support amount on its own initiative.
In this chapter
The mother and the man specified as the father both have access to their joint case. If you have been named as a father, you have the right to know the names of the mother and child, as well as the child’s date of birth. You also have the right to know if multiple potential fathers were named, but you do not have the right to know the names of the other potential fathers.
The child may request access to information in their own case after they turn 18 years old.
You must keep all the information you receive in connection with the paternity case confidential.
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Updated 02/18/2025