Registering a Birth

Registration has to be in person at the Register Office.  If the parents are married, only one parent is required at time of registration.  If the parents are unmarried, both will need to attend.  If only the mother attends, the birth can still be registered but the father's details will not be recorded unless he is also present.

By law, the birth must be registered within six weeks (42 days).

By registering, you will obtain a birth certificate, which can then be used to claim child benefit and other family-related benefits, as well as obtaining a National Health Service number, which your doctor will need.

To register, make an appointment at the Register Office of the district where the birth occurred, either in person or by telephone and if the baby was born in hospital, please bring with you the letter from the hospital titled 'Registering the Birth of your Baby'.

If you would like to take up our Tell Us Once service, please bring in your completed child benefit form and envelope, and details of your National Insurance Number and any benefits you are currently claiming.

You do not have to bring your baby with you when you arrive for your appointment.

A Registration Officer will interview you in private, asking for:

• The place and date of birth of the baby
• The baby's name, surname and sex;
• The baby's parents' names, surnames and places of birth;
• The baby's parents' occupations;
• The baby's mother's maiden name.

You will be given a short birth certificate which shows the child's full name and date of birth, and a form to enable you to register your child with a doctor.

You may buy additional short and standard certificates from the Registration Officer at the time of registration (a standard certificate shows all the details recorded in the register).  Please see the Fees section for current charges.

If the natural parents of the child were not married to each other at the time of the birth, and they later marry each other, the birth should be re- registered.  The Registration Officer will be pleased to advise about a re-registration.