Divorce or a dispute about your children?
A Dutch divorce requires a lawyer. With minor children a parenting plan is required as well.
- Authority, main residence and contact are three separate things. We explain which applies to you.
- Moving abroad with your child without the other parent’s consent can be unlawful, even if you have authority.
- Call us or send us your situation and we will tell you what to expect.
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A parent without parental authority may be entitled to information about important events in the child’s life. The parent with parental authority must in principle inform and consult that parent on matters of importance. A parent without parental authority may also, subject to conditions, request information directly from professionals, such as a school. That is not the same as the right to take part in decisions or to inspect a complete file without restriction.
Nederlands: Lees dit artikel in het Nederlands: Informatie over uw kind als ouder zonder gezag
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Written by Öznur Batur, attorney at Arslan Advocaten. Registered in the specialisation register of the Netherlands Bar for personal and family law and criminal law. Last updated: 19 September 2026. General information is not legal advice on your own situation.
If you are not receiving information about your child, start by establishing your legal position, any existing court decisions and the information you actually need. A clear request or a workable information arrangement can achieve more than a general conflict about feeling excluded.
Keeping parenthood and parental authority apart
Legal parenthood determines the legal family tie. Parental authority concerns responsibility for a minor and the power to take important decisions. A parent can be a legal parent without having parental authority. Parents can also have joint parental authority while the child lives mainly with one of them.
So check the birth certificate, recognition details and any court decisions. Since 1 January 2023, recognition in many cases also gives rise to joint parental authority, but the law provides for exceptions. A recognition made before that date does not automatically acquire that effect later on.
If it turns out that you do have joint parental authority, your question may be broader than information alone. Where a joint decision has reached deadlock, a dispute resolution procedure concerning the exercise of parental authority may be relevant. This article focuses on the position of the legal parent without parental authority. For the difference, read the explanation of parental authority.
What must the other parent tell you?
Article 1:377b of the Dutch Civil Code (BW) obliges the parent with parental authority to inform the parent without parental authority of matters of importance concerning the child’s person and property. Think of significant developments regarding school, health or important financial interests. Which information is needed depends on the child’s situation.
The provision is not intended as a right to a running account of every day. A request for all private conversations, every photo and every calendar appointment goes beyond an ordinary need for information about important events. By defining your request, it becomes clearer what should reasonably be shared.
Distinguish between periodic information and events that call for prompt notice. A school report can be shared at fixed times. A far-reaching event may require a different pace. The law does not prescribe a standard monthly newsletter; the parents or the court must turn this into a workable arrangement.
Consulting is not the same as asking for consent
In addition to informing, Article 1:377b of the Dutch Civil Code also refers to consulting on decisions to be taken regarding matters of importance. This allows the parent without parental authority to put forward a view. That parent does not thereby automatically obtain a veto or the same decision-making power as a parent with parental authority.
For proper consultation, a question should where possible be asked before the choice has become irreversible. Provide enough background to allow a substantive response and agree a reasonable period for replying. In urgent situations, the scope for prior consultation may be different.
An arrangement can specify the channel used for consultation and how a lack of response is dealt with. This prevents every difference of opinion from turning into a debate about whether there was any consultation at all.
Requesting information directly from a school or another professional
Article 1:377c of the Dutch Civil Code contains a separate duty to provide information for third parties who, in a professional capacity, hold information about important facts and circumstances concerning the child or the child’s care and upbringing. The parent without parental authority must in principle ask for this themselves.
The professional does not have to share everything. The law provides for exceptions: information that would not be given in the same way to the parent with parental authority or to the person with whom the child usually lives, and information whose disclosure would be contrary to the interests of the child. For healthcare providers, professional confidentiality, the child’s age and specific statutory rules may also be relevant.
An appeal to privacy therefore does not automatically make every request hopeless. Conversely, legal parenthood does not override every form of confidentiality. Ask specifically for the information you need for your position as a parent and, if refused, ask for the reason to be explained.
No automatic right to a complete medical file
Medical data call for extra care. A request for information about important developments is not simply the same as access to the child’s entire file, accounts or confidential conversations. The child’s age, position and interests may make a difference here.
So describe what you want to know. For example, whether important treatment is taking place and which general consequences of it are relevant to the child. Let the healthcare provider assess which information may be provided within the applicable statutory framework.
In a dispute, it is useful to keep the request and the response in writing. The lawyer can then assess whether the refusal has been adequately reasoned, whether a more limited request is appropriate and which route to a decision is available. Do not try to obtain access to a file by going around the professional concerned.
When can information be restricted?
The interests of the child may justify a restriction. Article 1:377b(2) of the Dutch Civil Code allows the court to disapply the parent’s duty to inform and consult where those interests so require. For information from professionals, too, the interests of the child are part of the statutory test.
This requires more than a finding that the parents are in conflict. What specific harm or risk would providing the information cause? Could more limited disclosure or the involvement of a third party solve the problem? Sometimes information about the child’s development can be shared without disclosing a protected address or other risky details.
If a court-ordered restriction, a safety arrangement or a contact ban already exists, have the request for information tailored to it. A right to information is not a licence to use a prohibited form of contact. The chosen route must be safe and legally workable.
Drawing up a practical information arrangement
A good arrangement describes which information is provided, how often, through which channel and within what period important developments are responded to. Also record how questions are asked and how much time there is for an answer. This avoids arguments about unanswered messages on different platforms.
One possible set-up is a periodic overview of school and health, supplemented by sharing important documents and timely consultation on intended decisions. This is an example of a structure, not a statutory schedule. The frequency must suit the age, circumstances and burden on the child and the parents.
Agree what you will do if nothing special has changed. A short confirmation may then be sufficient. That way the arrangement does not become an obligation to keep producing new details. Where relations are strained, a single fixed email address or a neutral intermediary can provide clarity.
How do you word the first request?
Start with your position: you are a legal parent and do not have parental authority, or the parental authority situation has yet to be established. Then state which important information is missing and for which period. Refer to an existing court decision if it already contains an arrangement.
Ask for a concrete solution. For example, the recent school reports and a proposal for periodic exchange of information. A message containing nothing but accusations does not make clear which request the recipient must meet.
Keep the request, the date it was sent and the reply. If there is no response, a short reminder may be appropriate. If there is a current medical or other urgent situation, state specifically why clarity is needed quickly. Do not issue arbitrary legal ultimatums without knowing which next step is possible.
What if discussion does not help?
At a parent’s request, the court can lay down an arrangement for information and consultation. Where a professional refuses, Article 1:377c(2) of the Dutch Civil Code also provides a route to the court. Which procedure and representation are needed must be assessed on the basis of the party from whom you are seeking information and the specific situation.
If an arrangement already exists, the question is whether compliance should be demanded or whether an amendment is needed. An arrangement made years ago may no longer fit the child’s school, care or age. So do not only state what is going wrong, but also which workable arrangement you are now proposing.
A court decision provides certainty, but must be clear enough to apply. Wording such as 'all relevant information in good time' can give rise to new disputes. So think in advance about topics, frequency, exceptions and a practical communication channel.
Information, contact and maintenance are separate matters
A dispute about information does not automatically justify stopping maintenance payments. Nor does the absence of contact mean that a duty to inform can never exist. Each matter has its own statutory conditions and any court-ordered arrangement.
By not playing these issues off against each other as bargaining chips, it remains clear which solution you need for your child. If several problems exist at the same time, they can be listed in one file, but the legal assessment must take place matter by matter.
For a separate problem, read about a contact arrangement that is not complied with or unpaid maintenance. When you get in touch, state which court decisions on those matters already exist.
Fictitious example
A father without parental authority has not received any school information for some time. He first asks for the latest report and a short update every six months. The mother does not respond. He then makes a specific request for information to the school and keeps that correspondence. The school must assess the request within the applicable legal framework.
The lawyer then examines whether an arrangement with regard to the mother is needed and whether the school’s response gives reason for a separate step. The aim is a workable flow of information. The procedure need not be widened into a dispute about parental authority if there is no separate application or interest for that.
Frequently asked questions
May the other parent refuse everything because I do not have parental authority?
No, the absence of parental authority does not automatically mean that there is no right to information at all. The law provides for duties to inform and consult, with the interests of the child as an important limit.
Am I entitled to all school and healthcare data?
Not necessarily. It concerns information about important facts and circumstances. The statutory exceptions and any specific rules must be taken into account.
Does the school have to ask the parent with parental authority for permission?
A school must assess its own statutory duty to provide information. A mere wish of the parent with parental authority that nothing be shared does not in itself determine every request. The situation and the interests of the child remain relevant.
Can I take part in decisions about school if I am consulted?
Consultation gives room for your view. It does not automatically give you, as a parent without parental authority, the same decision-making power or a right of consent.
Can the court impose a fixed arrangement?
Yes, the law provides a route for this. A concrete proposal setting out topics, frequency and communication channel helps to obtain a workable decision.
Does the same apply to a grandparent or biological parent without legal parenthood?
These statutory provisions concern the parent without parental authority. For a different position, it must be examined separately what entitlement exists. Kinship or involvement alone does not automatically confer the same right.
Would you like a refusal or an existing arrangement assessed? Contact Arslan Advocaten. Bring the court decision and your specific request for information.
Read also
- Contact arrangement not complied with
- Relocating with your child after a divorce
- Consent for a holiday with your child
- Applying for sole parental authority
- All information about family law
Sources and legal basis
- Dutch Civil Code, Book 1, Articles 377b and 377c.
- The Dutch judiciary on parental authority.
