Birth registration

You register the birth in the municipality where your child was born, within 3 days of the birth. If one of those three days falls on a weekend or a public holiday, you must register the birth on the next working day. A handy overview showing the last day on which you can register the birth can be found under the heading Until which day can you register the birth?.

Register a birth online

To register a birth online, you must meet the following conditions:

• you or the other parent has Dutch nationality;
• both of you have DigiD. If there is no father, the mother can file the declaration alone.
• You need an acknowledgement of parenthood if you are not married or do not have a registered partnership.

Birth registration at the town hall

In the following situations, you cannot register a birth online and you must make an appointment to register it at the town hall:

• You are not married or in a registered partnership, and your child was not acknowledged before the birth registration.
• You want to choose a last name when registering the birth.
• neither of you has Dutch nationality.

Is your midwife not listed? Or have you received a written statement? Then you can file the birth certificate using this online form.

Are you registering the birth at the town hall? Then bring the following: 

• valid identification of the person making the declaration;
• valid identification of the mother;
• a statement from the doctor or midwife (if you have one);
• marriage certificate for adding child(ren) (not required);
• copy of the deed of acknowledgement of the unborn child (if you have one);
• an anonymous donor statement (if you have one) from the Foundation for Donor Data Artificial Insemination.

The father or co-mother of the child is required to register the birth. The mother who gave birth to the child may register the birth, but is not obligated to do so. The baby does not need to be present at the birth registration.

If the father, co-mother, or mother cannot file the declaration, the declaration must be made by: 

• someone who was present at the birth, or: 
• the owner of the house in which the child was born, or: 
• an employee of the institution where the child was born (for example, the hospital). 

If none of these people register the birth, the registration will be done by or on behalf of the mayor of the municipality where the child was born. 

The date you register the birth depends on the day your child was born. The rule is that you must register the birth within three days of the date of birth. 

As parents, you decide which surname your child will receive. You can only choose the surname for your first child. You can do this before the birth or when registering the birth. All subsequent children in the family automatically receive the same surname as your first child. More information can be found on the page Choosing a child's surname.

Foreign nationality

If your newborn child does not have Dutch nationality, you may not be able to decide which surname your child will get. This depends on the country of which your child has the nationality. Ask about this at the embassy or consulate.

If your child lived for some time after delivery but died before the birth was registered, a birth certificate will first be drawn up in the municipality where your child was born. Then a death certificate will be drawn up in the municipality where your child died.