Establishing and contesting paternity

Questions of a child’s parentage are resolved either voluntarily or by the court. The outcome determines the child’s surname, maintenance, inheritance rights and involvement in upbringing.

When to get in touch

• the father does not acknowledge the child voluntarily
• the birth record has to be amended
• a man is recorded as the father but the child’s parentage is in doubt
• the child’s father has died and his paternity needs to be established
• a question of paternity has arisen in an inheritance matter

What the lawyer does

• assesses the situation and chooses the right remedy
• prepares a claim to establish paternity (Article 128 of the Family Code) or to contest it (Article 136)
• builds the evidence of parentage, including the question of genetic testing
• represents the client in court
• handles the amendment of the civil status record
• combines the case with a claim for maintenance

How paternity is determined

• The child was born in wedlock or within ten months after the marriage ended or was annulled – the child is the child of the spouses, and the husband is registered as the father (parts 1 and 2 of Article 122 and Article 133 of the Family Code). The spouses or former spouses may file with the civil registration office a joint statement that the husband is not the father, but it is granted only if another man and the child’s mother file a statement acknowledging his paternity (part 3 of Article 122).
• The parents are not married – paternity is determined on a joint application by the mother and father, which may be filed with the civil registration office before or after the child’s birth, or by a court decision (part 2 of Article 125 and part 1 of Article 126).
• There is no joint application – the father’s surname and citizenship are recorded as the mother’s, and his first name and patronymic as she indicates (part 1 of Article 135). Where the record was made in this way, the court accepts a claim to establish paternity (part 4 of Article 128).

Establishing paternity in court

• the claim may be brought by the mother, the child’s guardian or custodian, a person who maintains and brings up the child, the child on reaching adulthood, and a man who considers himself to be the father (part 3 of Article 128 of the Family Code)
• paternity may be established on the basis of any information confirming that the child is descended from a particular person, gathered in accordance with the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine (part 2 of Article 128)
• if a party avoids taking part in an expert examination and it cannot be carried out without them, the court may find established the fact the examination was ordered to clarify, or refuse to find it established (Article 109 of the Civil Procedure Code)
• if the mother was married to another man at the time of conception or birth and he is recorded as the father, a man who considers himself to be the father may bring a claim against him to establish his own paternity; the limitation period is one year from the day he learned or could have learned of his paternity (Article 129 of the Family Code)
• if a man who was not married to the child’s mother has died, his paternity may be established by a court on the application of the same persons who may bring a claim to establish paternity (Article 130)
• on the basis of the court decision, the civil registration office amends the birth record and issues a new birth certificate (Article 134)

Contesting paternity

• A man recorded as the father may contest his paternity by bringing a claim to have his name removed as the father from the birth record; the court grants the claim if the absence of a blood relationship is proved (parts 1 and 2 of Article 136 of the Family Code). Paternity may be contested only after the child’s birth and before the child comes of age, and not after the child’s death; no limitation period applies to this claim (parts 3, 4 and 6 of Article 136).
• Paternity may not be contested by a man who knew, when he was registered as the father, that he was not the child’s father, or by a man who gave written consent to the use of auxiliary reproductive technologies as a result of which his wife gave birth to the child (part 5 of Article 136 and part 1 of Article 123).
• The mother, if she gave birth in wedlock, may contest her husband’s paternity, but her claim is granted only if another man claims paternity; the limitation period is one year from the day the child’s birth was registered (Article 138).
• The heirs of a man recorded as the father may contest his paternity after his death if, during his lifetime, he filed a statement with a notary denying paternity and died before the child was born, or if for good reasons he did not know that he was recorded as the father; if he died after bringing a claim, his heirs may pursue it in court. No limitation period applies to this claim (Article 137).
• Paying maintenance under a court decision does not prevent a claim to remove a person’s name as the father from the birth record (Article 140).

Legal basis

Where there is no voluntary acknowledgement, paternity may be established by court decision (Article 128 of the Family Code of Ukraine). A man recorded as the child’s father has the right to contest his paternity under Article 136. Evidence of parentage is examined by the court; in practice the finding of a molecular genetic examination is decisive.

Parentage is governed by Chapter 12 of the Family Code (Articles 121–140); the gathering and assessment of evidence, including the consequences of avoiding an expert examination, by the Civil Procedure Code (Article 109).

Legislation and case law are updated over time; this page reflects the position as of November 2026.

Frequently asked questions

What if the man avoids the genetic test?

The court assesses the evidence as a whole, and the conduct of the parties. If the examination cannot be carried out without a party and that party avoids it, the court – depending on who is avoiding it and what the examination means for them – may find established the fact the examination was ordered to clarify, or refuse to find it established (Article 109 of the Civil Procedure Code). We use these consequences in the case.

Can maintenance be claimed at the same time?

Yes. A primary claim and a claim derived from it may be combined in one statement of claim (part 1 of Article 188 of the Civil Procedure Code), so a maintenance claim is usually joined to the claim to establish paternity, which saves time. Child maintenance is awarded from the day the claim is filed (part 1 of Article 191 of the Family Code).

Can paternity be acknowledged without going to court?

Yes, if the parents are not married: the mother and father file a joint application with the civil registration office, before or after the child’s birth. If it cannot be filed in person, it may be filed through a representative or sent by post, provided it is certified by a notary (parts 1 and 3 of Article 126 of the Family Code).

Is there a time limit for contesting paternity?

For a man recorded as the father, no limitation period applies, but paternity may be contested only until the child comes of age (parts 3 and 6 of Article 136 of the Family Code). For the child’s mother the period is one year from the day the birth was registered (part 3 of Article 138), and for a man who considers himself to be the father of a child born in the mother’s marriage to another man, one year from the day he learned or could have learned of his paternity (part 2 of Article 129).

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