In short. Establishing paternity means adding a father's details to a child's birth record where none currently exist: voluntarily, through the Civil Registry Office (DRACS), or by a court decision (Articles 125–128 of the Family Code of Ukraine). Contesting paternity is the reverse — removing from the birth record the details of a person who is registered as the father but is not (Articles 136–138 of the Family Code). The key evidence in both categories is a forensic molecular-genetic (DNA) examination, but if a party evades it, the court may find the disputed fact established or disproved even without an expert opinion (Article 109 of the Code of Civil Procedure of Ukraine).
The deadlines differ: claims to establish paternity, and a claim by the person recorded as the father, are not subject to any limitation period; a mother, or a man who considers himself the father of a child born within someone else's marriage, has one year. Paternity can be contested only before the child turns eighteen, and this is never available to a person who knew, at the time of registration, that he was not the father.
The mirror category is maternity disputes. They are far less common, because a child's descent from the mother is confirmed by a healthcare facility's birth document, but the law provides separate mechanisms for them: establishing maternity by court decision (Article 131 of the Family Code), a maternity dispute (Article 139 of the Family Code), and establishing the fact of maternity after a woman's death (Article 132 of the Family Code).
Establishing versus contesting paternity: what is the difference
Both categories of cases concern the same document — the child's birth record — but move in opposite directions. The starting point is the presumption of paternity: a child conceived and/or born in wedlock is presumed to descend from the spouses, and this presumption also applies to a child born within ten months of the marriage ending (Article 122 of the Family Code). This is why a husband is recorded as the father automatically — even if the spouses have lived apart for years and the child was born to someone else. If the mother is not married, the child's father is recorded either on the joint application of the mother and the father (Article 126 of the Family Code) or on the mother's sole statement (Article 135 of the Family Code) — in which case the child has no legally established father.
When paternity needs to be established
Establishment is needed when the father's details were entered on the mother's statement, or when there is in fact no record of a father at all: the man has not filed a joint application and does not acknowledge the child; the mother refuses to file a joint application while the man wants to become the child's legal father; the probable father has died, and inheritance, a survivor's pension, or a one-off lump-sum benefit for a fallen service member depends on establishing paternity; or an adult child wants to legally establish their own descent.
When paternity needs to be contested
Contesting is needed in the mirror situations: a man is recorded as the father under the marital presumption, but the child was not born to him; a mother wants to remove a former husband from the birth record because the biological father is willing to acknowledge the child; or a man who considers himself the father of a child born within someone else's marriage seeks recognition of his own paternity — which is impossible without simultaneously removing the record of the mother's husband (Article 129 of the Family Code).
Who has the right to go to court
The law defines the circle of claimants exhaustively, and each has its own time limits.
A claim to establish paternity may be filed by the child's mother, a guardian or custodian, a person who maintains and raises the child, the child themselves after reaching adulthood, or a man who considers himself the father (Article 128(3) of the Family Code). No limitation period applies to these claims — a person may come forward after ten years or after twenty. The one exception is a man who considers himself the father of a child born within someone else's marriage: for him, the law sets a one-year period running from the day he learned or could have learned of his paternity (Article 129 of the Family Code).
Paternity may be contested by the person recorded as the father — with no limitation period, but only before the child turns eighteen (Article 136 of the Family Code); by the mother — within one year of the date of registration, and only if another person has filed a statement claiming paternity (Article 138 of the Family Code); and, in cases defined by law, by the heirs of a deceased man — in particular if he had filed a notarised statement during his lifetime disclaiming paternity, died after the claim was filed, or, for good reason, did not know he was recorded as the father (Article 137 of the Family Code).
How paternity is established
The law provides for a voluntary route and a judicial route, plus a separate procedure for cases where the probable father has died. These are not interchangeable: the choice depends on whether both parents agree, and on whether the man whose paternity is being established is still alive.
Voluntary acknowledgment of paternity through the Civil Registry Office
If the mother and father agree, paternity is acknowledged without going to court: they file a joint application with the Civil Registry Office, DRACS (Article 126 of the Family Code). This can be done at the same time as registering the birth, at any point afterwards, or even before the child is born — during pregnancy. DRACS requires no proof of the child's descent and does not verify one. Court becomes necessary the moment either side withholds consent: the mother refuses to file the joint application, or the man does not acknowledge the child.
Establishing paternity through the courts
A claim to establish paternity is filed when the father's details were entered on the mother's statement (Article 135 of the Family Code). Grounds for establishment are any information confirming the child's descent from a specific person, gathered in accordance with the Code of Civil Procedure (Article 128(2) of the Family Code) — the law does not set an exhaustive list of evidence. A single claim typically combines the demand to establish paternity with demands to amend the birth record and to recover child maintenance: maintenance in this case is awarded from the date the claim is filed (Article 191 of the Family Code), so every month of delay is maintenance the child permanently loses.
Establishing the fact of paternity after a man's death
If a man who was not married to the child's mother has died, the fact of his paternity is established by the court in special (non-contentious) proceedings (Article 130 of the Family Code). Three conditions apply: the death is documented, the father's details were entered on the mother's statement, and there is no dispute over the substantive right between the interested parties. If the deceased's heirs object to establishing the fact, the case proceeds as an ordinary claim instead. The Supreme Court, in its ruling of 9 July 2025 in case No. 201/1017/25, separately clarified the wartime situation: where a person has the legal status of missing without a trace but has not been declared dead, paternity cannot be established in special proceedings — a claim to establish paternity is required instead. For families of fallen service members, establishing paternity opens access to a one-off lump-sum benefit and a survivor's pension, and such applications fall within the civil jurisdiction of the courts (Supreme Court rulings of 24 July 2024 in case No. 753/858/23, of 5 June 2024 in case No. 557/1535/23, and of 8 October 2025 in case No. 570/1834/23). At the same time, where establishing the fact affects how these benefits are allocated, and a person already receiving the benefit — for example, another parent of the deceased — objects to the applicant's claim of paternity, a genuine dispute over the substantive right arises: the Supreme Court, in its ruling of 5 August 2026 in case No. 619/866/24, held that in such circumstances special proceedings are unavailable, the application must be left without consideration, and the claim must instead be brought as an ordinary lawsuit.
How paternity is contested
Contesting paternity always goes through the courts — DRACS has no authority to remove a father's details on request alone. The matter to be proven here is a single, clearly defined one.
Grounds for contesting paternity
The only fact that needs to be proven is the absence of a blood relationship between the person recorded as the father and the child: once this is proven, the court orders the removal of that person's details as father from the birth record (Article 136(2) of the Family Code). The reasons behind the original record are irrelevant — whether the marital presumption applied, or the man filed a joint application believing the child was his. The Supreme Court, in its ruling of 8 April 2026 in case No. 537/3041/24, established an important procedural safeguard: a court cannot refuse a paternity challenge for lack of a DNA report if the court itself failed to take the necessary steps to arrange the examination — it is the court's duty to secure the examination before it can decide the dispute.
When contesting paternity is impossible or difficult
The law sets four absolute bars. Contesting is only possible after the child's birth and before the child turns eighteen (Article 136(3) of the Family Code) — once the child reaches adulthood, the record becomes final. Contesting is impossible if the child has died (Article 136(4)). A person who knew, at the time of registering himself as the father, that he was not the father has no right to sue — typically men who knowingly acknowledged someone else's child and later changed their minds after the relationship with the mother ended. Finally, a person who consented to the use of assisted reproductive technology cannot contest paternity (Article 136(5) of the Family Code). Cases where the formal right to sue survives but significant time has passed are also difficult: the case law of the European Court of Human Rights under Article 8 of the Convention directs national courts to balance biological truth against the child's established family ties, so years of voluntarily performing the parental role work against the claimant.
What evidence is needed in paternity cases
The court decides the question of a child's descent on the basis of the evidence as a whole, and none of it — including an expert opinion — carries any predetermined weight (Article 89 of the Code of Civil Procedure). In practice, however, a clear hierarchy exists.
DNA testing
A forensic molecular-genetic examination is the most precise evidence available: it confirms or rules out a blood relationship with a high degree of probability, stated in the expert's report. It is ordered by the court on a party's motion; collecting samples requires the probable father and the child to appear in person at the expert institution. In cases involving a deceased probable father, a posthumous examination is possible — using biological samples from the deceased's close relatives or, in exceptional cases, following exhumation.
The consequences of evasion are separately regulated. If a party evades participation in the examination and the relevant circumstances cannot be established without it, the court may find the fact the examination was meant to clarify either established or disproved — depending on who is evading and what significance the examination holds for that person (Article 109 of the Code of Civil Procedure). In other words, if the respondent fails to appear for sample collection without good reason, the court decides the case without an expert report. The Supreme Court, in its ruling of 1 October 2025 in case No. 686/14591/23, set out in detail what counts as evasion: even purely passive conduct qualifies — notifying the court of an inability to attend without filing any motion to reschedule or to conduct the examination in another way.
Other evidence the court may take into account
A DNA report is not a mandatory precondition for a paternity claim to succeed: grounds for establishing paternity can be any information showing the child's descent from a specific person, gathered under the rules of the Code of Civil Procedure (Article 128(2) of the Family Code). At the same time, the Supreme Court treats such evidence critically: in its ruling of 5 March 2024 in case No. 761/3765/23, the court held that witness testimony without written corroboration, and correspondence whose authorship was not proven, were insufficient — so indirect evidence is accepted only cumulatively and only once it has been verified.
Correspondence, photographs and video
Messenger correspondence in which a man refers to the child as his own, discusses the pregnancy, expenses, or upbringing, is electronic evidence (Article 100 of the Code of Civil Procedure), submitted as printouts or a notarised record of inspection. Joint photographs and videos with the child from different periods confirm the existence of an actual family relationship.
Witness testimony
Relatives, neighbours, friends and colleagues can confirm circumstances that leave no paper trail: the mother and probable father living together around the time of conception, the man publicly acknowledging the child as his own, and his involvement in the child's life. In cases establishing the paternity of a deceased man, witness testimony often forms the core of the evidence.
Documents on cohabitation and support of the child
Evidence of a shared household around the time of conception and after the birth: registration at the same address, joint contracts, bank transfers for the child's maintenance, payment for children's goods and services, and records from educational or medical institutions listing the person as the father or as a contact person.
What documents are needed
The basic package for any case in this category: the child's birth certificate; a full extract from the State Register of Civil Status Acts regarding the birth record — this shows precisely on what basis the father's details were entered, and therefore determines the correct legal remedy; marriage or divorce documents, where the presumption applied; supporting evidence from the list above; and proof of payment of the court fee, which in 2026 is UAH 1,331.20 for a non-pecuniary claim brought by an individual. Cases establishing the paternity of a deceased man additionally require a death certificate and documents confirming the purpose of establishing the fact: a notary's confirmation that an inheritance file has been opened, or documents relating to a pension or benefit application. The exact package depends on the category of case and is best determined before filing — having a claim returned for defects costs months.
How the court proceedings unfold
Claims to establish or contest paternity are heard under the rules of ordinary claim proceedings; cases establishing the paternity of a deceased man are heard under the rules of special (non-contentious) proceedings. The logic of the case is the same in both: claim, evidence, examination, decision.
Preparing and filing the claim
The claim is filed with the court at the respondent's registered place of residence; claims to establish paternity may also be filed at the claimant's place of residence (Article 28 of the Code of Civil Procedure). This is where the claims are framed — and where future problems are either created or avoided: whether to combine establishing paternity with recovering maintenance, whether to add a simultaneous demand to amend the birth record in a contesting claim, who the respondent is, and whether to join DRACS as a third party.
Ordering the examination and gathering evidence
A motion to order a molecular-genetic examination is filed together with the claim or at the preparatory hearing. The court's ruling designates the expert institution, the questions to be answered, and the procedure for sample collection, and suspends the proceedings for the duration of the examination. In parallel, documents that a party cannot obtain independently are requested from healthcare facilities, DRACS, and banks.
The hearing
The court examines the expert report together with the other evidence and hears the parties and witnesses. Participation by videoconference is available (Article 212 of the Code of Civil Procedure) — a party who is in another city or abroad is not required to travel to the hearing. If the respondent evades the examination, the court applies Article 109 of the Code of Civil Procedure and decides the case on the evidence available.
What to do after the court decision
The decision takes legal effect once the thirty-day period for an appeal has passed, or after the appellate court has reviewed it. It is then submitted to DRACS, which amends the birth record and issues a new birth certificate — either with the father's details added, or with them removed. Without this step the decision remains a declaration on paper: inheritance, maintenance and other rights are exercised only through the updated birth record.
Legal consequences of establishing or contesting paternity
A court decision in these cases changes not just one document but the entire scope of the legal relationship between the man and the child — in both directions.
Child maintenance
Once paternity is established, a maintenance obligation arises: maintenance is awarded from the date the claim was filed (Article 191 of the Family Code), not from the child's birth — maintenance for the years before the claim was filed cannot be recovered, because legally there was no paternity until then. The minimum amount is 50% of the subsistence minimum for a child of the relevant age. The mirror consequence applies to contesting: once the record is removed, the obligation to pay maintenance ends going forward, but amounts already paid are not refundable.
Inheritance rights
A child whose paternity has been established is a first-priority heir at law (Article 1261 of the Civil Code of Ukraine), and this works both ways: the father likewise inherits from the child. Inheritance is most often what drives cases establishing the paternity of a deceased man; the critical deadline here is six months to accept the inheritance, so proceedings should be initiated as soon as the inheritance file is opened, and if the deadline is missed, a separate claim for an extended deadline must be filed.
Parental rights and obligations
An acknowledged father acquires the full scope of parental rights and obligations on an equal footing with the mother (Article 141 of the Family Code): the right to contact with the child and to take part in raising them, the right to give or withhold consent to adoption and to the child's travel abroad in peacetime, and the duty of maintenance. Removing the record ends this relationship entirely — the former "father" loses both rights and obligations toward the child.
Amendments to the birth record
A court decision is the basis for DRACS to amend the birth record. Together with the change to the father's details, the question of the child's patronymic and surname may also arise — this is resolved under Articles 148–149 of the Family Code, taking the child's age into account, and does not happen automatically.
Maternity disputes: when a child's connection to the mother must be proven in court
A child's descent from the mother is determined on the basis of a healthcare facility's document confirming that she gave birth to the child (Articles 121, 133–135 of the Family Code), so the question of maternity almost never arises: a woman who gives birth is automatically recorded as the mother. This is why a separate category of disputes arises only where that usual chain is broken — a child was found without documents, a woman gave birth outside a hospital, the birth took place in occupied territory, or the child was registered with details that do not reflect the facts. The law provides three distinct mechanisms for such cases, and the choice between them depends on exactly what is recorded in the birth record.
How maternity disputes differ from paternity disputes
The difference lies in the starting presumption. Paternity rests on marriage or on a man's statement, so the dispute comes down to the question of a blood relationship. Maternity, by contrast, is confirmed by the fact of childbirth itself, recorded in a medical document, so in court what must be proven is not so much the relationship as the fact that this particular woman gave birth to the child and that the existing birth record does not reflect that. A second practical consequence: in maternity cases, alongside DNA testing, medical records of the pregnancy and delivery become central evidence — something that simply does not exist in paternity cases.
Establishing maternity by court decision
Article 131 of the Family Code allows a person who considers herself the child's mother to file a court application to establish her maternity, where the mother's details were entered under Article 135(2) of the Family Code — that is, where the child's parents are unknown and the mother's details were entered by decision of the guardianship and custody authority. This is the typical situation for found or abandoned children: a woman left a child at a maternity hospital or was there under a different name, the child was found without documents, the birth was registered by order of the district administration, and the woman later seeks to have her maternity recognised. The grounds for granting such a claim are the same as in paternity cases: any evidence showing the child's descent from a specific person, assessed as a whole. In practice, the decisive factor is the report of a molecular-genetic examination, and the Children's Affairs Service and the child's legal representatives are involved in the case.
Contesting maternity, and a claim against the woman recorded as the mother
Article 139 of the Family Code addresses two opposite situations. First: a woman recorded as the child's mother may contest her own maternity — no limitation period applies to this claim. Second: a woman who considers herself the child's mother has the right to bring a claim against the woman recorded as the mother, seeking recognition of her own maternity; such a claim always combines two demands — removing the recorded mother's details and recognising the claimant's maternity, since a birth record cannot list two mothers. A one-year limitation period applies to this claim, running from the day the person learned or could have learned that she is the child's mother. There is a single ground for granting the claim — proof that no blood relationship exists between the recorded mother and the child.
When contesting maternity is not allowed
This bar is set out directly in Article 139(2) of the Family Code and applies to the situations covered by Article 123(2) and (3) of the Family Code — the use of assisted reproductive technology. Where a child is born to a wife following the transfer into her body of an embryo conceived by the spouses, or where another woman carried an embryo conceived by the spouses, the spouses are recorded as the child's parents. Neither the surrogate mother, nor the genetic mother, nor the spouses themselves may afterwards contest maternity by reference to a biological link, or the absence of one. In this way, the legal status of a child born through an assisted reproduction programme is final, which is why the risks in these relationships are managed through a contract and written consents given before the procedure, rather than through disputes after the birth.
Establishing the fact of maternity after a woman's death
If a woman who considered herself the child's mother has died, the fact of her maternity may be established by court decision in special (non-contentious) proceedings (Article 132 of the Family Code) — provided the mother's details were entered under Article 135(2) of the Family Code. The application may be filed by the child's father, a guardian or custodian, a person who maintains and raises the child, or the child themselves after reaching adulthood. As in paternity cases, where there is a dispute over the substantive right — for instance, objections from heirs — the case proceeds as an ordinary claim. The law makes no provision for establishing the fact of maternity in respect of a woman declared missing: what is needed instead is either a declaration of death or another legal remedy.
Registering the birth of a child born outside a healthcare facility
A separate category: a child was born at home, en route, during evacuation, or in temporarily occupied territory, and there is no medical birth certificate. The primary route here is not judicial: the fact that a woman gave birth to a child outside a healthcare facility is confirmed by a medical advisory commission, which examines the woman and the child and reviews the medical records of the pregnancy, including entries in the electronic healthcare system; the commission decides in favour if the probable delivery date matches the child's likely age or there is a certificate confirming the genetic relationship between the woman and the child. If the deadline to apply has been missed, or the commission refuses, the fact of birth is established by the court in special proceedings. For children born in temporarily occupied territory or outside Ukraine, the Code of Civil Procedure provides for urgent consideration of such cases and immediate enforcement of the decision — which then becomes the basis for the state registration of the birth and issuance of a birth certificate.
What evidence is needed in maternity cases
The body of evidence here is broader than in paternity cases and is built around medical records. The key categories: a report from a molecular-genetic examination establishing the relationship between the woman and the child; medical records of the pregnancy and delivery — the antenatal card, ultrasound and test results, entries in the electronic healthcare system, and extracts from healthcare facilities; documents drawn up when the child was found, and records from the Children's Affairs Service; testimony of witnesses present at the birth or aware of the pregnancy; and photographs, video and correspondence from the relevant period. The consequences of evading an examination apply here as well: the court may find the fact of maternity established or disproved, depending on who is evading (Article 109 of the Code of Civil Procedure).
How long a case takes
The Code of Civil Procedure sets benchmarks: preparatory proceedings of up to sixty days, and a hearing on the merits of up to thirty days after that. In practice, the length of paternity cases is driven by the examination: the queue at the expert institution, the parties' appearance for sample collection, and the suspension of proceedings while the examination is carried out. A respondent's evasion of the examination does not stall the case indefinitely: once the failures to appear are on record, the court applies Article 109 of the Code of Civil Procedure and decides the dispute without a report. The second factor is an appeal, which postpones the decision from taking legal effect. What shortens the timeline is a correctly chosen legal remedy, a complete set of evidence filed together with the claim, and a motion for an examination made immediately rather than after several hearings.
