What? You’ve known Annika since birth. How can you not be her passport’s guarantor?, I asked the pediatrican, mentally flipping through the calendar to our trip just weeks away. She gently explained that to be our four-month-old’s guarantor, she had to have known my husband and me for the requisite two years, not Annika for as long as she’d been on the planet. That really put the heat on. In the end, we didn’t get the passport into our hot little hands until the day before we left for Los Angeles.

Landing a baby’s passport is just one of the mystifying paper processes new parents must face. Spare yourselves the panic with this guide to getting key pieces of baby paperwork.

The birth certificate
This is usually the first piece of identification parents can apply for after their baby’s debut. In some provinces, such as Ontario and British Columbia, you must submit the first form within 30 days of your baby’s birth.

Where to start? First, in that mass of papers shoved down the side of your diaper bag as you left the hospital, you’ll find the Statement of Live Birth form. Fill it out and send it to your city’s registrar office, from where it’s passed on to the provincial government. You’ll then receive the Notice of Birth Registration in the mail, which you’ll need to apply for the birth certificate. Next, search online for, or call your province’s Vital Statistics office, to get application details. Fees and wait times range from province to province. Expect a fee of between $25 and $30, and a turnaround time of 15 days to a few months, depending on where you are. In a hurry? Check out rush services offered in your province, such as Manitoba’s same-day birth certificate for an extra $35, advises Caroline Kaus, chief operating officer of the Winnipeg-based Manitoba Vital Statistics Agency. (Some provinces are responding to complaints about delays with regular services, though. In Ontario, for example, there’s a guarantee for birth certificates ordered online – 15 days or your money back.)

The social insurance number
Even if little Sammy isn’t hitting the salt mines soon, he still needs a SIN so you can open his Registered Education Savings Plan and take advantage of the Canada Education Savings Grant. Apply through your local Human Resources and Skills Development department. It advises going in person for faster service (which also means you don’t have to temporarily hand over any identification papers, such as a birth certificate). You’ll also need to tote along your own identification, such as a passport or birth certificate. (You can apply by mail, too, or if you’re in New Brunswick, you may be eligible to apply by phone). The card takes about three weeks to arrive. To find out more, go to hrsdc.gc.ca.

The passport
Since 2001, the Canadian government has required all children to have their own passports, rather than travel under a parent’s passport as before.

You can get your newborn’s photo taken at a local photo shop – but get this: they can’t be smiling or crying in the photo. (Passport Canada claims to be lenient on babies’ expressions, but some parents have had problems.) Expect a few takes. (If your child isn’t sitting up by photo day, do what our photo place suggested and put your hand up the back of her shirt to prop her up. Why under? Your hand isn’t allowed to show in the photo.)

For children three and under, passports are valid for three years. And, as we found out, the passport must have a  guarantor who has known either parent for two years. A child’s passport costs $22, but you can get an express passport in two to nine days for an extra $30, or an urgent passport the next day for $70. Picking it up costs an extra $10.  Get more info at ppt.gc.ca.