Children born in Iceland
A notification of birth is sent to Registers Iceland from a healthcare institution or midwife.
The child is registered in the National Registry if he/she is an Icelandic citizen. In instances where the parents are foreign nationals, the child is registered in the National Registry if its mother is listed there. If not, the child is allocated a system ID No. but is not registered in the National Registry.
Information on the child’s parents is recorded. The child’s mother is registered according to the information in the birth notification. If the mother is married to, or in registered cohabitation with, the child’s declared father, her spouse is listed as the child’s father. The child is then automatically identified with its father when registered in the National Registry. Other rules apply if the child has two mothers who are married or in registered cohabitation; see Custody and registration of parents. If the mother is unwed or not in registered cohabitation when the child is born, the child’s paternity is considered to be unestablished. A mother is under obligation to make the paternity of her child known, see Custody and registration of parents.
Information on the child’s custodians is recorded. Joint custody for the mother and her spouse is registered upon the child’s birth if she is married to or in registered cohabitation with the declared father. The mother retains sole custody of the child if she is neither married to nor in registered cohabitation with the declared father when the child is born. Custody does not change automatically even if paternity is established later, see Custody and registration of parents.
Naming of a child. A child must be named before it reaches the age of 6 months, see Custody and registration of parents.