Parenthood after transition

In the Netherlands, the sex registered on the birth certificate determines legal parentage.

Registration at birth

In the Netherlands, the sex registered on the birth certificate determines legal parentage. Following a change in gender registration, existing parent-child relationships remain unchanged: a trans man who is registered as the mother of children born before the change retains that status.

Children born after transition

For children born after transition, registration depends on the parents’ current gender registrations. Laws and regulations in this area are evolving; since 1 March 2023, a transgender man who gives birth can request to be listed on the child’s birth certificate as the 'parent who gave birth to the child' instead of as the mother.

Internationally

Outside the Netherlands, policies vary widely. Some countries register a transgender parent according to their current gender registration; others follow their sex assigned at birth. This can lead to complications in international law and migration.

What the law provides

The Dutch Civil Code regulates two matters. Changing one’s gender registration does not affect existing family relationships: whoever was the father or mother of a child remains so. And if someone gives birth to a child after changing their registration, parentage law is based on the person’s sex before the change. The law therefore links motherhood to giving birth, not to registration. This rule became significant when the 2014 Transgender Act abolished the requirement of infertility, allowing transgender men to have children. More information is available under fertility and transition.

Proposals for change

In 2016, the State Commission on Reconsidering Parenthood advised adapting parentage law to new family forms, including a framework for parents who have changed their gender registration. These recommendations have only been partially incorporated into legislation. Transgender parents call for registration that reflects their everyday lives. Set against this is the child’s interest in knowing who they were born to, as well as the importance of clear and consistent parentage registration.

Case law in Europe

In other countries, the issue has been brought before the courts. In the United Kingdom, Freddy McConnell lost a case in 2020 in which he sought to be registered as his child’s father; the court ruled that the person who gives birth is legally the mother. In 2023, the European Court of Human Rights reached the same conclusion in a German case: a state may register the parent who gave birth to the child as the mother. See the European Court of Human Rights, adoption and transition and marriage and transition. The way in which the other parent experiences their partner’s transition can be found in the personal stories collected by the British women’s group Trans Widows Voices.