How to Remove the Father from a Birth Certificate?

QUESTION
How can a father be removed from a child’s birth certificate?

ANSWER:
Removing a father’s name from a child’s birth certificate is not a simple matter and can only be done in cases expressly provided for by law.

One such case is the successful disproof of paternity in court, after which the court will issue a decision. The court will notify the relevant municipal registry office, which will then make the change to the child’s birth certificate.

According to § 24 of Act No. 154/1994 Coll. on Registries (the “Registry Act”):
“Courts (…) are obliged to send the competent registry office notifications of decisions, agreements, joint declarations, or other facts affecting the personal status, name, or surname of a person, which constitute grounds for an entry in the register, its amendment, or its deletion.”

Under § 26 of the Registry Act:
“Amendments, additional entries, additional records, and their corrections in the register are carried out by the registry office on the basis of public deeds, other official documents, or written notifications, unless this Act provides otherwise.”

Another way to “remove” a father from a child’s birth certificate is through adoption. Adoption is decided by the court on the basis of a petition from the prospective adoptive parent. If the court decides to place the minor into the care of the adoptive parent, it will inform the registry office, which will then “record the adoptive parent in place of the original parent in the register” (§ 108 of Act No. 36/2005 Coll. on the Family, the “Family Act”).

QUESTION
My son has a daughter he has been caring for alone for several years, but he is not listed as the father on her birth certificate. He is the biological father, as confirmed by DNA tests, but another man is listed in the certificate. The daughter lives abroad with my son, but for Slovak authorities, my son is legally a stranger to her. Could you advise us on how to ensure my son is entered as the father on the birth certificate, and how we could also change her surname?

ANSWER:
This can only be achieved through paternity proceedings. Changing or replacing a surname in a child’s birth certificate is only possible in legally defined cases.

From your description, it appears that the daughter’s paternity was determined under the first presumption of paternity — that is, if a child is born during marriage or within 300 days after its dissolution, the mother’s husband is presumed to be the father (§ 85 Family Act).

Determining another man as the father (in this case, your son — e.g., by joint declaration of both parents under § 90 Family Act or by court decision under § 94 Family Act) is only possible after successfully disproving this first presumption in court.

The Family Act strictly limits who can disprove paternity established under the first presumption:

  • The mother’s husband (§ 86(1) Family Act) or his guardian (§ 86(2)),
  • The child’s mother or her guardian (§ 88(2) Family Act).

If your son were to file for paternity determination, the court would likely reject the petition, stating that he is not a party entitled to bring such proceedings under the Family Act or the Civil Non-Contentious Procedure Code (see Regional Court Trnava, Case No. 15CoP/202/2023). The court there stated that the first presumption must be lawfully disproved before the second or third presumption can apply.

Both parties entitled to challenge the first presumption have strict time limits:

  • The mother’s husband: within 3 years from the day he learned of facts seriously casting doubt on his paternity (§ 86(1)),
  • The mother: within 3 years from the child’s birth (§ 88(2)).

From your message, it seems this time limit has expired. The only remaining option would be a challenge by the child.

Under § 96(1) Family Act:
“If necessary in the interest of the child, and if the parents’ time limit for challenging paternity has expired, the court may, on the child’s petition, decide that the challenge to paternity is admissible. A minor must be represented by a guardian ad litem in this proceeding.”

If the court grants the request, the child may then file the actual petition to disprove paternity (§ 96(2)). There is no time limit for a child to bring such a petition — they may do so at any point in their life.

Only once paternity under the first presumption has been successfully disproved can your son petition the court under § 94(1) to be declared the father. In this type of proceeding, the petitioner may be a man claiming to be the father, and there is no statutory deadline for filing.

If you need legal services for preparing a petition to establish paternity or other family law matters, contact us at office@akmv.sk or call +421 915 046 749.