Guide · US edition · Updated 2026-10-29

Newborn Paperwork Checklist: Birth Certificate, SSN, Insurance

Nobody tells new parents that a baby comes with paperwork, and some of it has short deadlines. Here's the order most families handle it in.

At the hospital

☐ Birth certificate worksheet: the hospital collects the information and sends it to your state's vital records office. Check the spelling of every name before you sign.
☐ Social Security number: most parents apply at the hospital at the same time (it's called Enumeration at Birth). See how to get a baby's Social Security number.
☐ Acknowledgment of paternity, if the parents aren't married (rules vary by state)

First 30 days

☐ Add baby to your health insurance. A birth is a qualifying life event. Employer plans must give you at least 30 days to enroll; Marketplace plans give 60 days. Don't assume it happens automatically. See adding a baby to health insurance.
☐ Order certified copies of the birth certificate from vital records (you'll need them for a passport, school and benefits)
☐ Tell HR: parental leave, FMLA paperwork, short-term disability, and benefits changes
☐ Update your Dependent Care FSA or other benefits if you'll use childcare

First 2–3 months

☐ Check the Social Security card arrived (it usually comes by mail within several weeks)
☐ Add the baby as a beneficiary on life insurance and retirement accounts
☐ Write or update your will to name a guardian (see new parent money and legal to-dos)
☐ Open a savings or 529 account, if you want to

At tax time

☐ You'll need the baby's SSN to claim the Child Tax Credit and other child-related tax benefits

Keep it all in one folder

Hospital discharge papers, the birth certificate, the Social Security card, insurance letters and the well-baby visit record.

General information, not legal, tax or medical advice. Rules vary by state and plan.

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