Form PFL-2 is the Bonding Certification you file with New York Paid Family Leave when you take paid, job-protected time off to bond with a newly born, adopted, or fostered child. You fill it out yourself, attach documents proving your relationship to the child, and submit it together with Form PFL-1 to your employer’s insurance carrier within 30 days of your first day of leave.1New York State Workers’ Compensation Board. Paid Family Leave Bonding Certification Form PFL-2 Approved leave pays 67 percent of your average weekly wage, capped at $1,228.53 per week in 2026, for up to 12 weeks.2New York Paid Family Leave. New York Paid Family Leave Updates for 2026
One boundary before you start: Paid Family Leave only begins after the child is born. It does not cover prenatal conditions or pregnancy-related disability before delivery. Bonding leave itself can be taken any time within the first 12 months after birth, adoption, or foster placement.3Paid Family Leave. Paid Family Leave Information for Health Care Providers
What Goes on Form PFL-2
Download the combined form package from the Paid Family Leave website or the Workers’ Compensation Board.4Paid Family Leave. Form Package for Bonding PFL-1 is the leave request (part of which your employer completes). PFL-2 is the bonding certification, and it’s yours alone to fill out.
The form asks for:
- Your full legal name, date of birth, Social Security number or tax ID, any other last names you’ve used, and your mailing address.
- The child’s date of birth, gender, and whether the child lives with you.
- Your relationship to the child. Check the box that applies: biological child, stepchild, foster child, adopted child, legal ward, spouse or domestic partner’s child, or in loco parentis.
- The category of supporting documentation you’re attaching: birth parent, other parent, foster parent, or adoptive parent.
- Your signature and the date.
Make sure your name, Social Security number, and the child’s date of birth match your supporting documents exactly. Small discrepancies give the carrier a reason to send the application back.1New York State Workers’ Compensation Board. Paid Family Leave Bonding Certification Form PFL-2
The Documents You Have to Attach
The documentation requirement is where most claims stall. The carrier can deny your request if the right paperwork isn’t in the file within the 30-day window, so match your situation to one of the four categories below before you mail anything.
Birth Parent
Attach one of these: a copy of the child’s birth certificate; an original letter from your healthcare provider certifying the birth and listing the child’s date of birth and your name; or a provider letter certifying your pregnancy with the expected due date and your name. Birth certificates often take weeks to arrive, so the provider letter is usually the realistic option for leave that starts soon after delivery. The letter should include the provider’s name, address, phone number, and medical credentials.3Paid Family Leave. Paid Family Leave Information for Health Care Providers
Non-Birth Parent
If you aren’t the birth parent, whether you’re the father, a same-sex spouse, or a domestic partner, you have to prove both your relationship to the child and your relationship to the birth parent. Any of the following works:
- A birth certificate that names you as the second parent.
- A Voluntary Acknowledgment of Parentage (Form LDSS-5171).
- A Court Order of Filiation.
- The same birth parent documentation listed above, plus something linking you to the birth parent: a marriage certificate, civil union certificate, or evidence of domestic partnership.
The link to the birth parent is the piece non-birth parents most often forget. If you’re unmarried and your name isn’t yet on the birth certificate, the Voluntary Acknowledgment of Parentage is usually the cleanest path; both parents complete it together.1New York State Workers’ Compensation Board. Paid Family Leave Bonding Certification Form PFL-2
Foster Parent
Submit the foster care placement letter, or anticipated placement letter, from the county or city department of social services or an authorized voluntary foster care agency. If a second parent isn’t named in the placement letter, that parent must also submit proof of their relationship to the named parent, such as a marriage certificate.1New York State Workers’ Compensation Board. Paid Family Leave Bonding Certification Form PFL-2
Adoptive Parent
Submit court documents finalizing the adoption, or documents showing that the adoption is in progress. A second parent who isn’t named in the legal documents must separately prove their relationship to the parent who is named.1New York State Workers’ Compensation Board. Paid Family Leave Bonding Certification Form PFL-2
How to Submit the Package
Your complete package has three parts: PFL-1, PFL-2, and your supporting documents. The order that keeps things moving:
- Complete Part A of PFL-1 yourself.
- Give PFL-1 to your employer. They fill out Part B and must return it to you within three business days. If they don’t, submit what you have anyway. The carrier cannot treat your request as incomplete because your employer missed its deadline.
- Complete PFL-2 and attach your supporting documents.
- Send PFL-1, PFL-2, and all documentation to the insurance carrier listed on PFL-1, Part B. Do not send anything to the Workers’ Compensation Board. Submitting to the carrier is your responsibility.
Everything has to reach the carrier within 30 days of your first day of leave. Missing that deadline can cost you benefits.5Paid Family Leave. Bonding Leave for the Birth of a Child Keep copies of every page you send.
Separately, you also owe your employer notice of the leave itself. When the timing is foreseeable, give at least 30 days’ notice before leave begins. If something changes unexpectedly, like an early delivery, give notice as soon as you can, ideally the same day or the next business day.6New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. 12 CRR-NY 380-3.1 – Employee Notice Requirements for Paid Family Leave
After You Submit
The carrier has to pay or deny your claim within 18 calendar days of receiving the completed request, or your first day of leave, whichever comes later.7Paid Family Leave. Benefits If the carrier asks you for more information, that 18-day clock pauses until you respond.
Approved payments equal 67 percent of your average weekly wage, up to $1,228.53 per week in 2026, based on 67 percent of the New York State Average Weekly Wage of $1,833.63.2New York Paid Family Leave. New York Paid Family Leave Updates for 2026 You get up to 12 weeks total.
You don’t have to take the 12 weeks in one block. Bonding leave can be taken intermittently, but each absence must be in full-day increments.8Paid Family Leave. Paid Family Leave for Family Care Your employer can require you to give notice before each day you plan to be out, and all leave still has to fall within the 12-month window after the child’s birth or placement.
Both Parents Taking Leave
Both parents are eligible, even when they work for the same employer. Parents who want to be out at the same time may do so unless the employer objects.5Paid Family Leave. Bonding Leave for the Birth of a Child
If the Carrier Denies Your Claim
A denial notice has to state the reason and explain how to appeal. Paid Family Leave disputes, including denials, benefit amount disagreements, duration disputes, and complaints about late payments, go to arbitration through National Arbitration and Mediation. File at nyspfla.namadr.com.9Paid Family Leave. Your Rights and Protections
One thing to know before you start leave on an unapproved claim: if the carrier denies it and you’re already out, you aren’t considered to be on Paid Family Leave, and your employer decides how to treat the time you’ve taken.5Paid Family Leave. Bonding Leave for the Birth of a Child Whenever possible, line up your documentation before the first day you’re out, not after.