Washington’s birth filing form, officially DOH 422-020, is the document that registers a live birth with the state Department of Health and creates your child’s permanent legal birth record. If your child is born at a hospital or licensed birth center, the facility’s birth registrar fills out and submits it electronically after you complete the parent sections on paper. If a licensed midwife attends a home birth, the midwife files it. Only when no physician or midwife was present does the parent mail the form in directly, and that packet has to be postmarked before the child’s first birthday.
What the Form Asks For
The form is split into sections on the child, each parent, and medical and statistical data. Accuracy matters because this information flows straight into the birth certificate, the Social Security application, and any future passport paperwork.
About the Child
You’ll provide the child’s full legal name (first, middle, last), date and time of birth, sex, the type of birthplace (hospital, freestanding birth center, home, clinic, or en route), the facility name if applicable, and the city and county of birth. If the birth was part of a multiple, note whether the child was a twin, triplet, or higher, and the birth order.
About the Parents
For each parent, the form asks for current legal name, the full name as it appears on that parent’s own birth certificate, date of birth, birthplace, and Social Security number. The birthing parent’s section goes further and asks for a current residential address, length of time at that address, telephone number, occupation, education, race, and ethnicity. The second parent’s section collects the same identifying and demographic information but does not ask for a separate address.
Medical and Statistical Data
The lower portion of the form gathers health and pregnancy information for public health tracking: dates of the first and last prenatal visits, total number of prenatal visits, previous pregnancy history, the mother’s height and pre-pregnancy weight, weight at delivery, WIC use during pregnancy, and cigarette smoking before and during each trimester. Clinical fields cover birth weight, head circumference, gestational estimate, Apgar scores, and whether the infant was transferred to a higher level of care. These fields don’t print on the birth certificate itself, but the form isn’t complete without them.
If Your Baby Is Born at a Hospital or Birth Center
You usually never touch the final form. Under RCW 70.58A.100, the medical facility is responsible for collecting the required information and registering the birth within the timeframe set by department rule.1Washington State Legislature. Washington State Code 70.58A.100 – Live Birth of Child of Known Parentage, Reporting and Registration Requirements Staff give you a paper worksheet to complete, then enter your answers into the state’s electronic vital records system.
While you’re filling it in, you’ll be asked whether you want to apply for a Social Security number for your child at the same time. About 99 percent of infant SSNs are assigned through the Enumeration at Birth program, which lets the hospital transmit the application data to the Social Security Administration electronically with no separate SSA visit or mailed form.2Social Security Administration. Enumeration at Birth Process Participation is voluntary. Checking “yes” is the fastest path to the card, which typically arrives by mail within a few weeks. Your child needs a valid SSN to be claimed for the Child Tax Credit, and that number must be issued before the due date of your tax return including extensions.3Internal Revenue Service. Child Tax Credit
If Your Baby Is Born at Home
When a licensed midwife attends the birth, the midwife handles the filing with the state registrar the same way a hospital would. You don’t mail anything.
For an unattended home birth, you register the birth yourself by mailing a packet to the Department of Health. It has to be postmarked before the child’s first birthday. If the child is already older than one, the regular packet won’t work and you’ll need to contact the Department of Health about delayed registration instead.4Washington State Department of Health. How to Register an Unattended Home Birth
The packet includes:
- The Washington State Birth Filing Form (DOH 422-020). Complete items 1 through 38 in black ink. Leave items 39 through 69 and item 71 blank. For item 70, an attendant — someone other than the birthing parent — prints their full name, states their relationship to the mother, and signs.
- The Supporting Affidavit (DOH 422-036), completed by the birthing parent or someone with firsthand knowledge of the birth facts, signed before a notary public. The person who signs as attendant on the filing form cannot also sign the affidavit.
- A copy of a government-issued photo ID (not expired more than 60 days) for the attendant, the birthing parent, and the second parent if listed. Without a current government ID, the DOH accepts at least two documents from its alternative identification list.
- Proof of Washington residence showing the birthing parent’s address within 30 days of the birth. The document must include the parent’s name, address, and a date range covering the child’s date of birth.
- An Acknowledgment of Parentage, if you need to add a second parent and the birthing parent was not married at any time during the pregnancy.
Mail the completed packet to:
Attention: Birth Registration
Center for Health Statistics
PO Box 47814
Olympia, WA 98504-78144Washington State Department of Health. How to Register an Unattended Home Birth
Adding a Second Parent When You’re Not Married
If the parents are married when the child is born, both go on the birth record automatically. If they are not, the second parent’s name won’t appear unless both parents file an Acknowledgment of Parentage (AOP), DOH form 422-159. Signing the AOP is a legal act with the binding force of a court order. It establishes a parent-child relationship with all the rights and obligations that go with it, including the duty to pay child support.5Washington State Department of Health. Acknowledgment of Parentage
Each parent signs in the presence of a notary public or a third-party witness. If you complete the form and return it to the hospital within five days of birth, there is no fee. After that window, filing directly with the Department of Health costs $18 by check or money order payable to DOH. The AOP can be filed any time before the child turns 18, but the hospital route is simplest because the form travels with the birth registration paperwork.
Either parent can rescind the AOP within 60 days of filing or before the first court proceeding involving the child, whichever comes first. After that window closes, the acknowledgment can only be challenged in Superior Court on limited grounds: fraud, duress, or a factual mistake. That challenge has to be brought within four years of filing.5Washington State Department of Health. Acknowledgment of Parentage
If You Spot an Error After Filing
Misspelled names, wrong dates, and data entry slips at the hospital are fixable. You file an Affidavit for Correction (DOH 422-034) with the Department of Health, along with a copy of your government-issued photo ID, proof of your relationship to the person on the record if applicable, and any supporting documents that verify the correct information. If you already have a certified copy issued less than a year ago, send it in and the department will exchange it at no charge. Current processing time runs about six months.6Washington State Department of Health. How to Correct a Record
If No Birth Was Ever Registered
If the one-year filing window has passed and nothing was ever filed, the standard birth filing form is not the right tool. Washington handles these cases through a separate delayed birth certificate registration. You first obtain a letter from the Department of Health confirming no record is on file, then submit a delayed birth certificate form with documentary evidence of the birth facts, the no-record-found letter, and any applicable fees. Only the person themselves (if 18 or older) or a parent or guardian (if under 18) can request it. A delayed registration isn’t required for a child under four if the attending physician or midwife is still available and registers the birth directly with the department.7Washington State Legislature. WAC 246-490-080 – Delayed Birth Certificate, Requesting Registration