Your baby has just been born. You and your partner become parents: congratulations! To formalize the arrival of your child and grant them their rights, several administrative procedures are necessary from the first days following birth.
Where and when should I declare the birth of my child?
It all starts at maternity or at the clinic. A birth certificate is given to you by the doctor or midwife, an essential document for making the declaration. The birth must then be declared to the town hall of the place of deliverywith the civil status officer.
This process remains mandatory and must be completed within five working daysthe day of delivery not being counted. If the last day falls on a weekend or public holiday, the deadline is automatically extended until the next business day. In some health establishments, a civil status office can still make it possible to make the declaration directly on site, but this system is not systematic and depends on the municipalities.
Once the declaration is recordedthe birth certificate is drawn up immediately and given in several copies, necessary for the rest of the administrative procedures.
Birth declaration: legal deadlines and procedures in the event of delay
If the 5-day deadline is exceeded, the situation becomes more complex and requires an regularization with the judicial court. This procedure is longer and supervised, hence the importance of making the declaration on time.
Birth declaration: what documents to provide to the town hall?
To register the birth, it is generally necessary to present:
- The birth certificate delivered by the maternity ward;
- Parents’ identity documents;
- The family bookwhen it already exists, to register the child. If this is the first child and the parents do not yet have one, a family record book is established after the birth is declared.
If parents wish choose the child’s last name (name of father, mother or double name), they must complete a declaration of choice of name and submit it to the town hall at the time of birth registration.
Declaration of birth to my employer: is it obligatory?
There does not exist no general legal obligation requiring you to declare the birth of a child to your employer. However, this approach is often necessary in practice, in particular to benefit from the maternity leave or paternity leaveor for adapt your professional organization. In most cases, the employer must be informed to justify the employee’s absence and organize legal leave. Proof, such as the birth certificate or the certificate issued by the town hall, may be requested to formalize the request.
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Who can register the birth of a child?
The declaration can be made by one of the parents or by any person who attended thechildbirth. In practice, it is generally the parents who carry out this process in the days following the birth.
Early recognition of the child: a possible approach before birth
Even before the birth of the child, it is possible to carry out a early recognitionespecially in the case of an unmarried couple. This process can be carried out at any town hall, upon presentation of an identity document. It allows to officially establish parentage before childbirth, by legally designating the parent at this stage. This then makes it easier to declare the birth, since the parentage is already recorded when the birth certificate is drawn up.
What steps should you take after a birth?
Once the birth is registered, the child must be attached to the various social organizations. Today, these procedures are greatly simplified thanks to the dematerialization of public services.
Declaration of birth to CAF and CPAM
The Family Allowance Fund, the CPAM or even the tax administration can now be informed directly online via secure personal spaces or thanks to FranceConnect. In many cases, exchanges between administrations allow for more fluid handling and reduce the supporting documents to be transmitted. Attachment to health insurance allows the child’s care to be covered, while the CAF can provide rights to family benefits.
How to declare a birth for taxes?
On the tax side, the addition of the child to the tax household is done directly from the private online space.
Birth of a child: simplified administrative procedures online
Administrative procedures are now simpler and faster than before. There gradual dematerialization of public services allows you to reduce paper procedures and centralize a lot of information. However, it remains essential to respect the deadline for reporting to the town hallwhich constitutes the first essential step to give a legal existence to the child.
