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Your baby's birth certificate and Social Security number
Birth certificate
After your baby is born, the hospital staff will complete the certificate and send it to your state's department of health. The procedures for getting a copy of your baby's birth certificate depend on the county in which your baby is born.
Ask your birth center staff how you can get a copy of the birth certificate. Some hospitals will give new parents a souvenir certificate, but it is not an official birth certificate.
Birth certificate worksheet
Social Security number
On the hospital birth certificate questionnaire, there may be a question asking if you want to apply for a Social Security number for your baby.
- Any child older than 1 year who is listed as a dependent on a tax return is required by law to have a Social Security number.
- To open a bank account, buy savings bonds, or apply for government services for your baby, you'll need a Social Security number.
Though you won't legally need a number until a year after your baby's birth, applying for a number while still in the hospital may be the easiest way for you to do so.
Application for a Social Security card (from the Social Security Administration)
Related Links
Source: Allina Patient Education, Beginnings: Pregnancy, Birth and Beyond, fourth edition, ISBN 1-931876-14-2
First published: 10/04/2002
Last updated: 06/19/2003
Reviewed by: Allina Patient Education experts