The legal things to do after a baby is born fall into two groups: a short list of time-sensitive filings that start ticking the day of delivery, and a longer list of updates you should finish in the first few months. The urgent ones are the birth certificate, a Social Security number, health insurance enrollment, and — if the parents aren’t married — establishing paternity. The rest, including your will, beneficiaries, tax withholding, and a named guardian, matter just as much but give you a little more room to breathe.
File the Birth Certificate
If your baby is born in a hospital, staff will give you a form asking for the child’s name, date of birth, and both parents’ information. The hospital sends it to your state’s vital records office, and a certified copy typically arrives in the mail within a few weeks. Check every detail before the form leaves the hospital. Fixing a misspelled name or wrong date later usually requires a formal amendment application, supporting documents, and sometimes a court order.
For a birth at home or in a birthing center, the filing responsibility falls on you. Rules vary by state, but you’ll generally need to submit paperwork to your local vital records office within 30 to 40 days of birth, with notarized statements from the birth attendant and proof of where the delivery took place. Miss the deadline and you may face a “delayed registration” process that is significantly more complicated and sometimes requires a court proceeding.
Order at least one certified copy right away. You’ll need it for almost everything else on this list. Fees run roughly $10 to $35 depending on the state.
Get a Social Security Number
The easiest way to get a Social Security number for your newborn is to request it at the hospital while filling out the birth certificate paperwork. Check the box, and the information is forwarded to the Social Security Administration.1Social Security Administration. Social Security Numbers for Children The card usually arrives within a few weeks.
If you skip the hospital step, you’ll need to apply in person at a Social Security office with original documents (not photocopies): the child’s birth certificate, a separate proof of identity for the child such as a hospital or doctor’s record, and a valid ID for the parent filing.2Social Security Administration. Learn What Documents You Will Need to Get a Social Security Card Scrounging up a separate identity document for an infant with no passport or school record yet is harder than it sounds.
You need the SSN to claim the Child Tax Credit. Without one issued before your return’s due date, you cannot claim the credit for that child.3Internal Revenue Service. Child Tax Credit You’ll also need it to add the baby to health insurance, open a bank or college savings account in the child’s name, and apply for government benefits.
Enroll the Baby in Health Insurance
A birth triggers a special enrollment period, and the window is short. Employer-sponsored plans give you 30 days from the date of birth, with coverage retroactive to the birth date.4U.S. Department of Labor. Protections for Newborns, Adopted Children, and New Parents ACA marketplace plans (HealthCare.gov or your state exchange) give you 60 days, with coverage that can start as early as the date of birth.5HealthCare.gov. Getting Health Coverage Outside Open Enrollment
Miss the window and your baby could go uninsured until the next open enrollment, leaving you on the hook for well-baby visits, vaccinations, and any complications.
Contact your insurer or HR department before your due date so you know what paperwork they want. Most plans need a copy of the birth certificate and sometimes a hospital discharge summary. Having those ready means enrolling within days instead of scrambling at the deadline.
Establish Paternity if You Aren’t Married
If the parents are married, the husband is legally presumed to be the father in every state and no extra paperwork is needed. For unmarried parents, this step is one of the most important and most overlooked. Without established paternity, the father has no legal right to custody or visitation, and the child may miss out on benefits like the father’s health insurance, Social Security, and inheritance rights.
The simplest route is a Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity, a form typically available at the hospital right after birth. Once both parents sign and it’s filed with the state’s vital records office, it carries the same legal weight as a court order. If paternity is disputed, either parent can request genetic testing through a court proceeding, and a judge will issue a paternity order based on the results.
Once paternity is established, questions about custody and child support follow their own tracks. Any custody agreement the parents work out still needs a judge’s approval to be enforceable, and child support orders are set using a state formula that weighs each parent’s income, the number of children, and costs like health insurance and childcare.
Update Your Tax Withholding and Plan for the Credits
A new dependent changes your federal tax picture, so submit a new Form W-4 to your employer. The IRS Tax Withholding Estimator can help you set the right amount.6Internal Revenue Service. Tax Help for New Parents There’s no legal deadline, but every pay period you wait is money sitting with the IRS instead of in your account.
The Child Tax Credit is worth up to $2,200 per qualifying child for the 2025 tax year, with up to $1,700 refundable if you owe less than the full credit.7Internal Revenue Service. Tax Credits for Individuals The full credit is available to single filers earning up to $200,000 and joint filers earning up to $400,000, phasing out above those thresholds.3Internal Revenue Service. Child Tax Credit The child must have a Social Security number issued before your return’s due date.8Internal Revenue Service. Child Tax Credit 4
If you’re unmarried and paying more than half the cost of maintaining a home for you and your child, you may qualify for Head of Household filing status. The standard deduction is $24,150 for tax year 2026, compared to $16,100 for single filers.9Internal Revenue Service. IRS Releases Tax Inflation Adjustments for Tax Year 2026 The difference can be worth hundreds or thousands of dollars.10Internal Revenue Service. Filing Status
Know Your Leave and Workplace Rights
If you work for an employer with 50 or more employees and you’ve been there at least 12 months with at least 1,250 hours in the past year, the Family and Medical Leave Act gives you 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for the birth and care of your child.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 2612 – Leave Requirement Both parents qualify. Spouses who work for the same employer may be limited to a combined 12 weeks for bonding leave.12eCFR. 29 CFR 825.120 – Leave for Pregnancy or Birth Your right to take FMLA bonding leave expires 12 months after the birth; you can’t bank it for later.
FMLA is unpaid at the federal level, but a growing number of states run paid family leave programs that partially replace your wages while you’re out. Check whether your state offers this, because the application process often needs to start before or immediately after the birth.
Two other federal laws stay with you after you return. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act prohibits unfavorable treatment because of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.13U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Pregnancy Discrimination and Pregnancy-Related Disability Discrimination The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act requires employers with 15 or more employees to provide reasonable accommodations for limitations related to pregnancy and childbirth, such as modified schedules, lighter duties, or additional breaks, unless doing so would create an undue hardship.14U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Employers cannot force you to take leave if a reasonable accommodation would let you keep working.
Under the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act, most employees have the right to reasonable break time and a private space (not a bathroom) to express breast milk for up to one year after the child’s birth. The space must be shielded from view, free from intrusion, and functional enough to include a place to sit and a flat surface for the pump.15U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 73A – Space Requirements for Employees to Pump Breast Milk at Work Under the FLSA Your employer doesn’t have to provide a refrigerator but must let you bring a cooler and store it while working.
Name a Guardian in Your Will
Naming a guardian is the step that protects your child if something happens to you. Without one, a court picks who raises your child, and the judge may choose someone you’d never have selected. The most common way to designate a guardian is in your will.
Think beyond how much someone loves your child. Weigh their financial stability, whether they share your values on education and religion, where they live, and whether they’re genuinely willing to take on the responsibility. Talk to your chosen guardian before putting their name in a legal document. This should never be a surprise.
Some states also allow standby guardianship, which lets a designated person begin acting as guardian while you’re still alive but incapacitated. It’s particularly useful for single parents or parents dealing with serious health conditions, because it avoids the gap between incapacity and a court appointment.16Child Welfare Information Gateway. Standby Guardianship A family law attorney can help you figure out which type of guardianship designation is available in your state.
Update Your Estate Plan and Beneficiaries
A new child changes how your assets should be distributed if you die. At minimum, revisit your will to include the child as a beneficiary and to name the guardian. If you don’t have a will, create one. Dying intestate means state law dictates who gets what, and the results may not match your intentions.
Consider setting up a trust rather than leaving assets directly to your child. If you name a minor as the direct beneficiary of a life insurance policy, the insurance company will not release the funds to the child. Instead, a court must appoint a guardian to manage the money through a probate process that ties up the funds, costs money in legal fees, and may result in a court-appointed manager you wouldn’t have chosen. Naming a trust as the beneficiary lets you decide in advance how and when the money is distributed.
Go through every account with a beneficiary designation: life insurance, retirement accounts, and any transfer-on-death bank or investment accounts. Beneficiary designations override whatever your will says, so an outdated designation on a 401(k) can send money to an ex-partner or other unintended recipient. This is where most estate planning falls apart, because people update the will but forget about the retirement form they filled out a decade ago.
Apply for a Passport if You’ll Travel Internationally
Children under 18 don’t need identification for domestic flights, so travel within the U.S. is straightforward.17Transportation Security Administration. Do Minors Need Identification to Fly Within the U.S. International travel is a different matter. Every child, including newborns, needs their own passport.
The passport application for a child under 16 has a strict requirement: both parents or legal guardians must consent and appear in person with the child. If one parent can’t be there, that parent must sign a notarized Statement of Consent (Form DS-3053) and provide a copy of their photo ID. The notarized form must be submitted within three months of being signed.18U.S. Department of State. Apply for a Childs Passport Under 16 The two-parent consent rule is meant to prevent international parental abduction, and passport agencies enforce it strictly.
Even without immediate travel plans, applying early avoids a scramble later, and a passport also works as a backup form of government-issued identification for your child.
Open a College Savings Account
Starting early gives compound interest the most time to work. Two common options, 529 plans and custodial accounts, work very differently from a legal standpoint.
529 Plans
A 529 plan is a tax-advantaged savings account where the account owner (typically a parent) controls the funds and decides when and how to withdraw them. Each account has one designated beneficiary, but you can change the beneficiary to another family member at any time without tax consequences.19Internal Revenue Service. 529 Plans – Questions and Answers Withdrawals used for qualified education expenses (tuition, books, room and board) are tax-free.
You can contribute up to $19,000 per year (the 2026 annual gift tax exclusion) to a child’s 529 plan without triggering gift tax reporting, or $38,000 if both parents contribute.20Internal Revenue Service. Gifts and Inheritances 1 A special election allows you to front-load up to five years’ worth of contributions at once. If your child doesn’t use all the funds for education, the SECURE 2.0 Act permits rolling unused 529 money into a Roth IRA for the beneficiary, subject to a $35,000 lifetime cap and a requirement that the 529 account has been open for at least 15 years.
Custodial Accounts
Custodial accounts under the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act or the Uniform Gifts to Minors Act work differently. A parent or other adult manages the account, but the money legally belongs to the child. When the child reaches the age of majority, typically 18 to 21 depending on the state, they gain full control and can spend it however they want.21Social Security Administration. The Legal Age of Majority for Uniform Transfer to Minors Act There’s no restriction on using the funds for non-education expenses, but there’s also no way to take the money back or redirect it once the child is old enough. That loss of control is the tradeoff for the flexibility these accounts offer.