Registering a Birth

Births have been registered in England and Wales since 1837, while in Scotland they were first noted by local registrars in 1854, and in 1864 in Northern Ireland.

Each local registrar holds records of every birth and death within the district and can provide copies of entries on request. A General Register Office (GRO) for each country holds a central index and can also supply copies. Requests can be made online.

• England and Wales: www.gro.gov.uk
• Scotland: www.gro-scotland.gov.uk
• Northern Ireland: www.groni.gov.uk

A birth in England, Wales or Northern Ireland must be registered with the first 42 days, and can often be done at the hospital if not the local registrar’s office. In Scotland, new parents must act more quickly because they only have 21 days.

You local registrar can be located with the help of the website of your county council – the address of which can be found using your GRO’s site or a search engine such as Google.

Who should register?

If a couple are married, then either the mother or father can register the birth. They and their spouse will be recorded as the parents.

However, if a child is born out of wedlock, then the father can only be named as such on the birth certificate – and so legally acquire parental responsibility – if he and the mother both register the birth.

In the case of both the mother and father being unable to register (due to a fatality or medical reasons), the birth can be registered by any of the following.

• Any person who has knowledge of the birth and is a relative of the mother (or father if he is married to the mother).
• The occupier of the premises in which the child was, to the knowledge of that occupier, born.
• Any person present at the birth.
• Anyone having charge of the child.

Documentation and other information

No documentation of any sort is needed for you to register your child’s birth –but the registrar would be grateful for the mother’s hospital discharge summary if you have it.

In Scotland, you’ll be asked for your marriage certificate, if you have one. Though this, too, is not essential, and the registrar can record the birth without it.

You will be asked for a number of basic details, including the full name and sex of your baby, and the names, addresses and occupations of the mother and father. The mother might also be asked about her other children.

On completion of registration you will be given a free, abbreviated birth certificate. Full-length versions and replacements are available for a small fee from your local registar or GRO, and can sometimes be ordered online.

Corrections and alterations

Once the registration process has been completed, it can be difficult but not impossible to change the details.

For instance, applications for corrections of errors should be made to the registrar by the person who resistered the birth, and documentary evidence that an error was made at the time of registering must be provided.

Overseas births

If your baby is born overseas, you should register its birth with the local authorities and receive a birth certificate. You can then register your child as a citizen of the UK through the British Consul or British High Commission, though you are not obliged to do this and you will not be prompted to do so.

There are, however, several countries in which a birth cannot be regsitered with British authorities. These include Zimbabwe, Canada, Australia, Gibraltar, the Falkland Islands and Bermuda. For more information, visit the website of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Stillbirths and surrogate births

Stillbirths must be treated as births and registered within the same time limits. Most other regulations regarding births also apply.

In instances of surrogate birth and births as a result of fertility treatment, the woman who gives birth will be shown as the mother, while the man who underwent the fertility treatment with the woman will generally be treated as the father.

A couple who arranged for a surrogacy may apply to the courts for a parental order that will enable the birth to be re-registered to show them as the parents.

For further information See www.gro.gov.uk, www.gro-scotland.gov.uk, www.groni.gov.uk and www.fco.gov.uk.