Registering your baby's birth in the Netherlands: BSN, residence permit and embassy

The order of things after the birth

Step 1. Register the birth within 3 days

Government.nl states that a birth must be registered with the municipality in which the baby was born, within 3 days. Rijksoverheid adds that the day of birth does not count. If the deadline falls on a weekend or public holiday, register on the first working day after it. If you are too late, you may be fined. Registration is free; copies of the birth certificate cost a fee. Some municipalities offer online registration; check your gemeente's website.

Note that it is the municipality where the baby was born that counts, not where you live. If you gave birth in a hospital in a neighbouring town, you register there.

Who can register

• the father or mother;
• someone who was present at the birth, if the parents cannot register (for example a friend or relative);
• a fellow resident of the house where the baby was born, or the head of the hospital or clinic, only if no one was present at the birth.

What to bring

Required:

• a valid passport or ID card of the person registering (or a Dutch driving licence if that person lives in the municipality);
• a valid passport or ID card of the mother (or a driving licence under the same condition).

Useful, not compulsory:

• the birth notification from the hospital or midwife, with the baby's names and the date and time of birth;
• a copy of the declaration of acknowledgement, if the child was acknowledged before birth;
• the declaration of surname choice, if made before the birth.

What it records

The birth certificate records the baby's first names, surname, sex, place, date and time of birth, and the names, places and dates of birth of each parent. Government.nl calls it the legal proof of the child's birth.

Step 2. Legal parents, acknowledgement and parental authority

The Dutch rules depend on your relationship, not on biology alone.

Since 1 January 2023, Rijksoverheid explains, unmarried and unregistered partners who acknowledge their child automatically get joint parental authority with the mother; they no longer need to apply to the court. If a child was acknowledged before 1 January 2023, the parents still have to arrange joint authority, even when the child was born after that date.

Joint authority matters in daily life: Rijksoverheid mentions applying for a travel document, travelling abroad with a minor, enrolling at school or daycare and medical decisions.

A legal parent does not automatically have parental authority, and the person with authority is not always a legal parent, Government.nl notes. If your family situation is not in the table (two fathers, a known donor, surrogacy, a previous relationship), the Rijksoverheid acknowledgement checklist and a family lawyer are the right next steps.

Choosing the surname

• You can give the surname of the mother, the co-mother or the father. Since 1 January 2024, a first child born on or after that date can receive both parents' surnames.
• The name you choose for the first child applies to the next children of the same parents.
• To choose a surname, both parents go in person to a municipal office, before the birth or at registration. It cannot be done by one parent or in writing.
• Without a choice: a married man and woman's child gets the man's surname; an unmarried mother's child gets her surname unless the other parent acknowledges the child and you register a choice.

If you are married and want a surname other than the automatic one, register the choice before the birth; otherwise you cannot register the birth online and must go together to the municipality.

Step 3. The BSN and health insurance

When the birth is registered, your baby is entered in the Personal Records Database (BRP). Government.nl explains that everyone registered in the BRP is automatically given a BSN (burgerservicenummer), used for health care, childcare and every government service.

Then add your baby to a health insurance policy within 4 months of the birth; cover starts from the date of birth. Children under 18 pay no premium for the basic package.

Step 4. Child benefit

SVB explains that the municipality informs them of the birth, after which they send you a letter. You then apply online through My SVB; the application form is available in English. If you already receive child benefit for another child, you generally do not need to do anything.

Step 5. The IND residence permit

The IND page for a child born in the Netherlands applies when your baby does not have Dutch nationality and has no permit yet.

• Not needed if your baby has the nationality of an EU or EEA country or Switzerland.
• UK nationals with a residence document under the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement apply for a Withdrawal Agreement document for the child instead.

Conditions listed by the IND: the baby was born in the Netherlands; belongs to your family; you and your baby have lived in the Netherlands since the birth (principal residence); you have a valid residence permit (or became Dutch after the birth); you both have a valid passport or travel document (the IND will not reject the application only because the baby has no passport yet, if all other conditions are met). One parent declares to be the referent.

Documents: copies of your passport (identity page and all pages with stamps), of the baby's passport if there is one, and the signed referent declaration.

Application: online with DigiD (fee paid by iDEAL) or on paper by post. The IND lists a fee of €85 and a legal decision period of 90 days, which can be extended. You collect the permit by appointment at an IND desk.

Validity: if the referent has a temporary permit, the child's permit expires at the same time; if the referent is Dutch or has a permanent permit, it is valid for 5 years.

Step 6. Nationality: why your embassy matters

The IND explains that a child automatically becomes Dutch by birth if, at the time of birth, the mother was Dutch, both parents were Dutch, or the father was Dutch and married to or the registered partner of the mother, or had acknowledged the child before birth; and in a specific third-generation case. It adds: it makes no difference whether the child was born in the Netherlands or abroad. A baby of two non-Dutch parents does not become Dutch by being born in the Netherlands.

Your baby's nationality therefore usually comes from your own country's law. Generic steps that apply to most countries:

1. Look up your embassy's or consulate's page on "registering a birth abroad" or "consular birth registration".
2. Ask which version of the Dutch birth certificate they accept, and whether it must be legalised or carry an apostille.
3. Book the appointment early: some embassies have long waiting times.
4. Apply for your baby's first passport; check whether both parents must be present or give consent.
5. Bring the passport to the IND application if you have it already, or send a copy later if asked.

Checklist to print

• Before the birth: acknowledgement and surname choice, if relevant.
• Passports or ID of the person registering and of the mother, in the hospital bag.
• Hospital or midwife birth notification.
• Register within 3 days at the municipality of birth.
• Ask for extra copies of the birth certificate in the version your embassy needs.
• Add your baby to your health insurance within 4 months.
• Apply for child benefit after the SVB letter.
• Embassy registration and passport.
• IND application, if needed; diarise the 90-day decision period.

Read next

For the leave you and your partner can take, see maternity leave in the Netherlands. For the full picture, go back to having a baby in the Netherlands as an expat.

Questions parents ask

Sources

1. Government.nl — Rules for registering a birth checked October 13, 2026
2. Government.nl — Which surname can I give my child? checked October 13, 2026
3. Government.nl — Birth of a child (family law) checked October 13, 2026
4. Government.nl — Difference between biological and legal parenthood checked October 13, 2026
5. Rijksoverheid — Gezamenlijk gezag door erkenning sinds 1 januari 2023 checked October 13, 2026
6. Rijksoverheid — Ik krijg een kind (checklist and explainer) checked October 13, 2026
7. Government.nl — Citizen service number (BSN) checked October 13, 2026
8. Government.nl — Standard health insurance checked October 13, 2026
9. IND — Residence permit for child born in the Netherlands checked October 13, 2026
10. IND — Dutch citizen by birth, acknowledgment or adoption checked October 13, 2026
11. SVB — You have a new baby checked October 13, 2026
12. Pre- and neonatal screenings (RIVM) — Hearing test checked October 13, 2026
13. Government.nl — Emergency number 112 checked October 13, 2026
14. 113 Zelfmoordpreventie — English checked October 13, 2026

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