IS IT POSSIBLE TO INCLUDE THE BIOLOGICAL MOTHER'S NAME ON THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE WHEN HER CHILD IS AD

Legal situation: I am a single mother and my baby is 20 days old. My friends and relatives want to adopt my child. I want my name to be included as the biological mother on my child's birth certificate when I give my child up for adoption. Is this possible? I would be grateful if a lawyer could answer this for me. Thank you very much!

FDVN’s Opinion:

Thank you for your inquiry to FDVN Law Firm (FDVN). After researching the relevant legal regulations, FDVN has the following opinion:

1. Regarding a child’s birth registration:

It is stipulated in Article 15 of Law on Civil Status 2014 that:

Article 15. Responsibility for birth egistration

1. Within 60 days after the birth of their child, the father or mother shall register the child’s birth; if the parents are unable to register their child’s birth, the grandfather or grandmother or another relative or the individual or organization that is nurturing the child shall register his/her birth. 

In addition, when the father of the child has not been identified, Article 15 of Decree No. 123/2015/ND-CP of November 15, 2015, detailing and guiding the implementation of Law on Civil Status, should be applied.

Article 15. Birth Registration for children whose parents cannot be identified

1. The People's Committee of the commune where the child is residing is responsible for registering the birth of the child whose parents cannot be identified.

2. In cases where a child's father is unidentified, the child's surname, ethnicity, place of origin, and nationality shall be established based on those of the mother. The father's information in the household registration book and birth certificate shall remain vacant.

Therefore, even if you are a single mother and do not want to identify the father of the child, you still have the responsibility to register the birth of your child within the timeframe stipulated by law. In this case, the child's surname, ethnicity, birthplace, and nationality shall be determined according to those of the mother; the section regarding the father in the household registration book and birth certificate of the child shall be left blank.

2. Regarding adopting a child

The purpose of adopting a child is to establish a long-lasting and stable parent-child relationship, for the best interests of the adopted child, ensuring that the adopted child is nurtured, cared for, and educated in a family environment.

It is stipulated in the Adoption Law 2010 that:

“Article 21. Legal consent for adoption

1. The adoption of a child must have the consent of the child's biological parents; if the father or mother has died, gone missing, is incapacitated, or cannot be identified, the consent of the remaining parent is required; if both biological parents have died, gone missing, are incapacitated, or cannot be identified, the consent of the guardian is required; in the case of adopting a child aged 9 or older, the consent of the child is also required.

2. The person consenting to the adoption as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article must be fully advised by the People's Committee of the commune where the dossier is received about the purpose of adoption; the rights and obligations between adoptive parents and adopted children; and the rights and obligations between biological parents and the child after the adoption.

3. The consent must be entirely voluntary, truthful, without coercion, threat, or inducement, without profit, and without any requirement for payment or other material benefits.

4. Biological parents may only consent to their child being adopted after the child has been born for at least 15 days.”

As your child has been born for 20 days now and you voluntarily agree to give your child up for adoption, the adopting parents shall meet all the requirements as stipulated in Article 14 of the Adoption Law.

“Article 14. Conditions for adopting parents

1. The adopting parent must meet the following conditions:

a) Having full civil capacity

b) Being at least 20 years older than the adopted child

c) Having the necessary health, financial, and housing conditions to ensure the care, upbringing, and education of the adopted child.

d) Having good moral character.

2. The following persons are not eligible to adopt:

a) Currently having some parental rights over a minor child restricted.

b) Currently serving an administrative penalty at an educational or medical institution.

c) Currently serving a prison sentence.

d) Having not had their criminal record expunged for any crime involving intentional harm to the life, health, dignity, or honor of another person; abuse or cruelty towards grandparents, parents, spouse, children, grandchildren, or caregivers; enticing, coercing, or harboring a minor to commit a crime; or trafficking, switching, or abducting children.

3. In cases where a stepfather adopts his wife's child from a previous marriage, a stepmother adopts her husband's child from a previous marriage, or an aunt, uncle, or cousin adopts a niece or nephew, the provisions in points b and c of clause 1 of this article shall not be applied.”

Then, the parties shall carry out the procedures for adoption as prescribed. However, the adoption shall have the consequences as stipulated in Article 24 of the current Adoption Law.

“Article 24. Legal consequences of adoption

1. From the date of the adoption, the adoptive parents and the adopted child shall have full rights and obligations of parents and child; and the adopted child and other members of the adoptive parents' family shall also have rights and obligations towards each other in accordance with the provisions of the law on marriage and family, civil law, and other relevant laws.

2. At the request of the adoptive parents, the competent state agency shall decide on the change of name of the adopted child. 

The change of name of an adopted child aged 9 or over must be with the consent of that child.

3. The ethnicity of an abandoned child who is adopted shall be determined by the ethnicity of the adoptive father or mother.

4. Except in cases where there is a different agreement between the birth parents and the adoptive parents, from the date of the adoption, the birth parents shall no longer have the rights and obligations to care for, raise, provide for, represent legally, compensate for damages, manage, or dispose of the private property of the child who has been given for adoption.

At that time, between the adoptive parents and the adopted child, there shall be full rights and obligations of parents and child; between the adopted child and other members of the adoptive parents' family, there shall also be rights and obligations towards each other in accordance with the provisions of the law on marriage and family, civil law, and other relevant laws; and at the request of the adoptive parents, the competent state agency shall decide on the change of name of the adopted child.

Therefore, it is not feasible to register the birth of the child in the name of you and your friend's husband who wants to adopt your child.

The above is FDVN's advisory opinion regarding your request for advice, based on the research of relevant legal regulations. We hope that FDVN's advisory opinion will be helpful to you.

According to Lawyer Nguyen Loan - FDVN Law firm