Advice and assistance in establishing paternity 
You have or will have a child and the father of the child does not want to acknowledge his paternity or is unknown? Get advice on what you can do and who can help you.
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Basic information
If you have a child and you are not married to the father of the child, the father does not automatically become the legal father of the child. This is done by voluntarily acknowledging paternity (only if the mother is not married to another man).
If the father does not voluntarily acknowledge paternity or it is unclear who the father is, there is also the way of judicial determination of paternity.
Consultation
You can get advice on this from the Office for Social Services. The Office of Social Services will also assist you in establishing paternity.
With paternity established, you can clarify other matters:
- Maintenance claims of the child
- Maintenance claims of the mother
- Custody of the child
- Inheritance claims of the child
- Granting of the father's name
The child also has a right to know its origin.
Legal guardianship
You can apply for a guardianship for the determination of paternity.
The guardianship does not restrict parental care. The guardian represents the child in the process of establishing paternity. The guardian can act on behalf of the child out of court and in court. Once legal paternity has been established, the guardian can also resolve issues of child support.
Specifically, the Advocate can do the following:
- Requesting the father to acknowledge paternity and recording the necessary documents.
- Arranging for the paternity to be clarified by the court
- Calculation of your child's maintenance entitlement
- Regular review of the child support claim
- Recording of a deed of support
- judicial enforcement of the maintenance claim
- Collection and control of alimony payments
- Determination of the residence and employer of the parent liable to pay maintenance
Requirements
You can seek advice on the subject at any time.
The expectant mother can apply for guardianship before the child is born if the expectant mother is not married and the parents have not made joint declarations of custody.
After the birth, the guardianship can be applied for at any time until the child reaches the age of majority.
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Procedure
Make an appointment with the local social center. The appointment can also take place at home if you wish.
A written application to the local social center is sufficient for the guardianship. Upon receipt of the application, the Youth Welfare Office immediately becomes the child's guardian. The Youth Welfare Office at the place of residence of the applicant parent is responsible.
More information
The Youth Welfare Office also does the following:
- The Youth Welfare Office advises and supports you in asserting maintenance claims.
- The Youth Welfare Office certifies paternity acknowledgments and consents of the mother and legal representatives, maintenance claims, declarations of custody for joint custody and maternity acknowledgments.
- The Youth Welfare Office issues certificates for unmarried mothers stating that there is no entry in the custody register and that the mother therefore has sole custody. This is the so-called negative certificate.
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Competent Department
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Bremen-Stadt: Sozialzentrum 2 – Beistandschaft/Unterhalt für Minderjährige
- +49 421 361 16892
- +49 421 361 8301
- Utbremer Straße 90, 28217 Bremen
- Website
- beistandschaft
@afsd. bremen. de
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Bremen-Nord: Sozialzentrum 1 – Beistandschaft/Unterhalt für Minderjährige – Blumenthal, Vegesack, Burglesum
- +49 421 361 7837
- Am Sedanplatz 7, 28757 Bremen
- beistandschaft-
S1 @afsd. bremen. de
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Online Services
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Beistandschaft Online
The online service "Beistandschaft" enables digital application, further flexible processing of the application and subsequent uploading of additional documents. In addition, citizens can arrange a consultation appointment with their responsible youth welfare office. A new feature of this online service is the termination of the guardianship. This means that guardianships that are no longer needed can be conveniently terminated online.
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Fees / Costs
gebührenfrei
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Deadlines & processing time
What deadlines must be paid attention to?
There are no special deadlines to be observed.
Upon receipt of the application for legal advisership, the youth welfare office immediately becomes the child's adviser.
The legal advisership ends as soon as you inform the Youth Welfare Office in writing. -
Legal Bases
This page has been automatically translated by DeepL. We cannot guarantee that the translation is correct.
The official information in German is complete and correct. 12.11.2025