Did you just adopt a child, in Belgium or abroad? Depending on the situation, the adoption must be recognised by the family court or by the Federal Public Service (FPS) Justice, and then recorded in the civil registry of your municipality of residence.
What is adoption?
Adoption creates a legal parent-child relationship between the child and the adoptive parents. The child then has the same rights and duties as a biological child (name, nationality, inheritance,...).
There are two types of adoption:
- Adoption in Belgium: the family court pronounces the adoption. The municipality then records the judgment in the civil registry.
- International adoption: the decision is issued by a foreign court. The FPS Justice (Federal Central Authority) must first recognize the adoption. The municipality can then record the decision and issue Belgian certificates.
Who should you contact if you want to adopt?
- For French-speaking residents of Brussels, the Community Central Authority for Adoption (ACC) is managed by External siteONE (Office de la Naissance et de l’Enfance).
- For Dutch-speaking residents of Brussels, the competent authority is External siteKind en Gezin.
These organisations inform and support prospective adoptive parents throughout the entire adoption process.
To obtain Belgian certificates:
- You live in the City of Brussels, or
- You are a Belgian citizen living abroad.
Court decisions are automatically sent to the City of Brussels, which then records them and updates the parentage.
From that moment, you can get next documents online:
- Adoption certificate
- Updated birth certificate for your child.
Free of charge