Register a birth

Either parent can register the birth on their own. They can include both parents’ details if they were married or in a civil partnership when the baby was born or conceived. To find out more information please visit who can register a birth on Gov.UK.

There is no charge to register your baby. Once you have registered the birth, you can buy a standard birth certificate. The standard (or full) certificate will be needed in the future to obtain passports, open bank accounts, prove nationality etc.

Standard certificates cost £12.50 per copy. You can buy extra birth certificates from the register office at any time.

If you register the birth in the area where it took place, you will receive the birth certificate straight away. If you register the birth in another area, you will receive a birth certificate in a few days.

There are two types of re-registration:

• to re-register a birth following marriage or civil partnership of natural parents
• to re-register a child’s birth and add the natural father’s details

Re-registration following the marriage or civil partnership of natural parents

This makes a new record of your child’s birth. It shows the child to be legitimated by your marriage. Only one parent needs to attend to re-register.

To apply you must complete the application to re-register a child’s birth following marriage of natural parents on Gov.UK.

This is also available from your local register office.

Re-registration to add the natural father’s details

This makes a new record of your child’s birth and includes the natural father’s details where they were not included in the original entry. The mother and father must attend to give joint information for this re-registration (except in special cases).

To apply you must complete the application to re-register a child’s birth to add father’s details on Gov.UK.

This is also available from your local register office.

Once the form is completed, you should contact the register office where the child was originally registered to make an appointment to re-register. Some cases may need to be referred to the Registrar General but most can be dealt with locally.

You will be asked to bring other documents with you when you attend, for example:

• the child’s original birth certificate
• your marriage certificate
• any other requested documents

For more information please contact us.

The new record of your child’s birth will be made at the register office for the district in which your child was born. If you prefer, you can attend any register office in England or Wales and re-register by declaration. This means that a registrar from that office will interview you and send the details to the correct office that will make the new entry on your behalf.