After your baby is born in the Netherlands: what to do
The weeks after a birth in the Netherlands carry their own admin, and the first deadline lands within 3 working days. This is every step after the birth in the order it happens, from registering the birth at the municipality to the baby’s own passport, with what comes to you unasked and what you have to start yourself. Checked 20 September 2026.
Register the birth at the municipality (geboorteaangifte)
You must register the birth with the municipality where the baby was born, within 3 working days. The day of the birth itself does not count, and you always get at least 2 working days: if the deadline lands on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday you get an extra working day. Checked against rijksoverheid.nl on 20 September 2026.
Paperbump schedules this within 3 days of the birth. What this step involves · rijksoverheid.nl
Heel prick and hearing test (hielprik en gehoortest)
In the first week, usually between day 4 and day 7, a health worker comes to your home to take a few drops of blood from the baby's heel and to test their hearing. The heel prick screens for a set of rare but treatable conditions. Checked against pns.nl on 20 September 2026.
Paperbump schedules this between 4 days and 7 days after the birth. What this step involves · pns.nl
Add the baby to your health insurance
Your baby is not insured automatically: you have to register them. Do it within 4 months of the birth and the cover runs from the day they were born. Checked against rijksoverheid.nl on 20 September 2026.
Paperbump schedules this within 4 months of the birth. What this step involves · rijksoverheid.nl
Claim child benefit (kinderbijslag)
The municipality tells the SVB about the birth, and roughly 2 to 4 weeks later the SVB writes to you at the address where the baby is registered, inviting you to claim. You then apply on the SVB website with DigiD, or ask them for a paper form. Checked against svb.nl on 20 September 2026.
Paperbump schedules this between 2 weeks and 6 weeks after the birth. What this step involves · svb.nl
The child health clinic (consultatiebureau)
Free child health care starts early: the clinic invites you when the baby is about a month old, and keeps seeing you through the first years to check growth and development and to answer whatever you want to ask. The first vaccinations are offered at 6 to 9 weeks. Checked against rijksoverheid.nl on 20 September 2026.
Paperbump schedules this between 2 weeks and 9 weeks after the birth. What this step involves · rijksoverheid.nl
Claim childcare benefit (kinderopvangtoeslag)
If your baby goes to registered childcare, the government pays back part of the cost. You can claim as soon as the contract is signed, but only once the baby exists and has a citizen service number (BSN). Checked against belastingdienst.nl on 20 September 2026.
Paperbump schedules this within 6 months of the birth. What this step involves · belastingdienst.nl
Get the baby their own passport or ID card
A baby cannot travel on a parent's passport: they need their own document, applied for at your municipality with the baby present. Everyone with parental custody has to consent, either by coming along or by signing a consent form with a copy of their ID. Checked against rijksoverheid.nl on 20 September 2026.
Paperbump schedules this between 2 weeks and 1 year after the birth. What this step involves · rijksoverheid.nl
Sort out the baby's nationality and papers with your own country
Being born in the Netherlands does not by itself make your baby Dutch. In general a child is Dutch at birth only if at least one parent is Dutch, so if you are both foreign nationals the baby usually is not. Checked against rijksoverheid.nl on 20 September 2026.
Applies to people who moved to the Netherlands from another country. Paperbump schedules this within 4 months of the birth. What this step involves · rijksoverheid.nl
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