Registering a birth

Registering a birth means officially informing the municipality about the birth of a child. 

How to a register a birth 

If your child is born in the Netherlands, you must report the birth of your child to the municipality in which your child was born within three days following the birth. You can do this at the city hall or city office, and in many municipalities you can also do this online. You can register the birth if you are the child’s mother or father. The birth can also be registered by another adult who was present when the child was born, such as a hospital employee.  

The municipality will then issue a birth certificate. This is important for your child as you need a birth certificate to apply for health insurance, for instance.  

Important! If your child is born outside the Netherlands, you do not need to register your child’s birth in the Netherlands. Instead, you register the birth in the country where your child was born. That country will then issue the birth certificate. 

How it works 

If the mother is a resident  

If the mother officially lives in the Netherlands and is registered with the municipality (registered in the BRP), everything happens automatically once the birth has been registered: 

• The birth certificate is also used to register the child in the BRP at the mother's address. 
• The child is immediately given a citizen service number (BSN). 
• Child benefit and health insurance can then be arranged. 

If the mother is a non-resident 

If the mother is registered as a non-resident in the BRP or is not registered at all, the procedure is slightly different: 

• The birth is reported to the municipality, but the child is not automatically registered in the BRP. 
• The country where the parents and child live is important: 
  • The mother and child live in the Netherlands: If you are the mother and you and your child live in the Netherlands, you must be registered with the municipality. You must also state that your child lives with you at your address. Take the birth certificate with you when you register the birth. Your child should officially come with you when you go to the municipality, but not all newborn babies are able to do this
  • The child lives with the father, and the mother does not live in the Netherlands: If the child has to be registered as living with the father and the child’s mother does not live in the Netherlands, the father must go to the municipality with the child in order to register the birth. 
  • The mother does not live in the Netherlands and wants to get a BSN for her child: If a mother who does not live in the Netherlands wants to apply for a BSN for her child, she must go to an RNI desk with the child. If this is impossible for medical reasons, an exception may be made. 

• The child is then officially registered in the BRP and given a BSN. 

Points to remember 

• You have three days in which to register the birth with the municipality in which the child was born. You can do this at the city hall or a city office, and in many cases you can do this online too. 
• When you go to the municipality, you need to take an identity document with you. 
• The child will not get a BSN until the mother is officially registered in the Netherlands. The child can be registered with the municipality or at an RNI desk.