Legal matters regarding birth
Registering a birth
If you just gave birth to a baby, you will have to register the birth at the municipality where your child was born within 3 working days. This is free. Only if you want a copy of the birth certificate, you will have to pay a small fee.
There are some rules regarding the person that does the registration of the birth:
- The registration may only be done by the child’s father or mother.
- If there is no father or the father is unable to come, then somebody who was present at the birth (a friend, grandfather or grandmother etc.) may do it.
- If no other people were present at the birth the person in whose home the child was born or the head of the hospital or clinic where the child was born may do the registration.
If there is nobody who is authorised to register the birth, a representative of the Mayor's office may also register the birth of a child.
What to bring to register a birth?
You will have to bring a few documents to the registration. Read more about what to bring to the registration at the website of your municipality.
Read more on registrering a birth at the Municipality of...
- The Hague
- Delft (to make an appointment, click on Afspraak maken)
- Rijswijk (in Dutch)
- Leidschendam-Voorburg (in Dutch; to make an appointment, click on Afspraak maken).
Leave
If you are employed in the Netherlands and become pregnant, you are entitled to at least 16 weeks of paid pregnancy and maternity leave.
Pregnancy leave
The date the pregnancy leave will start depends on the date you think you will give birth. You can take pregnancy leave from 6 weeks before the date the baby is due. The pregnancy leave should start no later than 4 weeks before the baby is due.
Maternity leave
After giving birth you are always entitled to at least 10 weeks maternity leave, even if the baby is born later than it was due.
Paternity leave
Currently, new fathers are allowed to take 2 days of paid leave and may take up to 3 days of unpaid leave. Starting 2019, they will be allowed to take 5 days of paid leave to look after a new-born and they are allowed to take up to 5 weeks of leave at 70% paid salary. This also applies to same sex couples.
Parental leave
Both parents are allowed to take off 26 times their weekly working hours to spend more time with their children. The main conditions are that a parent can only once take parental leave and has to do it before their child is 8 years of age. Talk to your employer to determine what will work best for you. Parental leave is generally unpaid.
Child benefits
You will receive a letter from the SVB 2 - 4 weeks after you register the child's birth. You can claim child benefit online via My SVB as soon as you receive this letter. You will need a DigiD for this.