Declaring a child born lifeless
Is your baby stillborn? You file a declaration with the municipality. You can also register your baby in the Basic Registration of Persons (BRP).
The funeral director usually does the declaration online for you.
Approach
You file the declaration at the municipality where your child was born. You will need:
- your valid ID
- the doctor's certificate of your child's death
Possibly also show:
- your wedding or partnership booklet, if you want municipality to include your child's name in it.
This is how you register your child in the Basic Registration of Persons (BRP):
- You go to the municipality where you live.
- In any case, you bring:
- your valid ID
- A document showing that your child was born dead
You can file the declaration and the BRP registration at the same time as the declaration. You can also do the BRP registration later.
After the online declaration, the funeral director or yourself can pick up the death certificate at municipality.
Description
Losing a child causes great grief. Reporting it to the municipality may help you cope. And you will have official proof that your child existed.
Reporting a stillborn child is not required if the pregnancy lasted less than 24 weeks. Did the pregnancy last 24 weeks or more? Then your baby must be given a burial or cremation and registering is mandatory.
You file your declaration at the municipality where your baby was born.
Registering in the BRP
You can also register your child in the Basic Registration of Persons (BRP). Then your baby's details are listed with your personal information in the BRP, for example on MijnOverheid.nl. It does not matter how long the pregnancy lasted or how long ago the birth was.
You register your child in the municipality where you live. You can make this request only for yourself and not for the other parent.
Getting first name on existing deeds
Is there already a record of your baby, such as a "certificate of birth (lifeless)"? But is there no first name on it? The municipality can still put a first name on the certificate.
Once the declaration is made, you will be given permission to bury or cremate the child.
Terms
Declaration may pass:
- 1 of the child's parents
- someone who was present at the birth
- an employee of the hospital
- the funeral director
You can register your stillborn child in the Basic Registration of Persons (BRP) if you:
- 1 of the parents are
- living or going to live in the Netherlands
The declaration of death must be made before the burial or cremation takes place.
Term
Your child was born after a pregnancy of less than 24 weeks
It does not matter how long it has been since your child was born dead. You can always file a declaration and register your child in the Basic Registration of Persons (BRP).
Your child was born after a pregnancy of 24 weeks or longer
Your child must have a funeral or cremation within 6 working days. You must have filed a declaration before the funeral.
For registration in the BRP, it does not matter how long it has been since your child was born dead.