This information applies to England and Wales and Northern Ireland
Births must usually be registered within 42 days. Stillbirths should also normally be registered within 42 days and no later than three months after the birth.
A mother can register the birth of her child on her own, regardless of whether she is married or not. She can also register the birth jointly with the father.
A father may be able to register the birth of his child jointly with the mother.
He can only register the birth on his own if:
If the father is not married to the mother but registers the birth jointly with her, he will ensure that he has parental responsibility.
If you're the lesbian partner of a child's mother, you may be able to register the birth jointly with the mother in certain circumstances. This will give you parental responsibility.
For more information about parental responsibility, see under Children, in Living together and marriage - legal differences.
If you're the lesbian partner of a child's mother, you might want to get advice about whether you can get parental responsibility for the child. You can get advice from a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
If the child's parents are not able to register the birth, this can be done by one of the following people:
Usually, you must register a birth with the Registrar of Births and Deaths at the register office in the district where the baby was born. You can find the address of the register office in the telephone directory. You can also search for your local register office online at: www.direct.gov.uk.
If you can't go to the register office in the district where the baby was born, you can go to another office. The registrar will then send the details to the office in the district where the baby was born. You must still go to the register office within 42 days.
There is no fee for registering a birth but there is a fee for an extra copy of the certificate.
The mother of the child can give the child any first and surname she chooses. She may give the child the father’s surname if she wants and she does not need the father’s consent to do this. In Northern Ireland details about a father who is not married to the mother may only be entered in certain circumstances.
A man registered on the birth certificate as the father of the child has no right to insist that the child is given a particular name, for example, his surname.
A married couple can also choose any surname for their child. It does not have to be the name of either of the parents.
All births on British registered ships and hovercrafts, and births of British subjects on foreign registered ships with a point of arrival or departure in the UK, are registered by the Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen in Cardiff.
All births on registered aircraft are registered by the Civil Aviation Authority.
Births of British citizens, British Dependent Territories citizens and British Overseas citizens can normally be registered in foreign countries at the British Consul or High Commission.
Births to members of the armed forces serving outside the UK may be registered by the Service Departments’ Registering Officer overseas.
It is possible to apply to register a birth years after it occurred. You will need to give as many details as possible, such as the exact date and place of birth including your or the child’s full name and address. You should write to:-
GRO Corrections
PO Box 476
Southport
Merseyside
PR8 2WJ
Telephone: 0151 471 4806
E-mail: corrections.re-reg@ips.gsi.gov.uk
Website: www.direct.gov.uk
In Northern Ireland, the Registrar General may be able to authorise the registration of the birth provided satisfactory evidence is supplied to support all the particulars shown in the entry. If you are registering the birth, complete form GRO 205 available from the General Register Office and submit at least two pieces of documentary evidence of the date and place of birth.
A transsexual person whose birth was registered in the UK, and who is granted a full gender recognition certificate by the Gender Recognition Panel, can get a new birth certificate reflecting their acquired gender. You will be able to get a short certificate free of charge. This will include the details of the date, place of birth and parentage on your original birth certificate, together with your acquired gender and new name. Someone looking at this certificate will not be able to tell that you have legally acquired a different gender.
There is also the option for the new birth certificate to show your birth surname, if this is different from the surname on your gender recognition certificate. You will also be able to buy an additional full birth certificate, if you want to.
Your original birth certificate will remain in existence, but will not be available for the public to see.
For more information about getting a gender recognition certificate, see Frequently asked questions about family matters.
There are two types of birth certificates:-
You can get a copy of a birth certificate in one of the following ways and a fee will be charged:
General Register Office
Certificate Services Section
PO Box 2
Southport
Merseyside
PR8 2JD
Tel: 0845 603 7788 (Mon-Fri 8am-8pm; Sat 9am-4pm)
Email: certificate.services@ips.gsi.gov.uk
Website: www.gro.gov.uk
For details of the fees for copies of birth certificates, see under heading Fees for copies of birth certificates.
You should provide as much information about the birth as possible. If you do not know your exact date of birth, a search will be made for one year either side of the year you give. If an entry cannot be traced, part of the fee paid will be kept and the balance returned, provided the balance is at least £2.
If you supply the index reference number of the entry, the fee will be lower than if you do not. The index reference number can be found by searching the indexes on microfiche at some large libraries and public record offices. Most of the indexes from 1837 until the early 20th century can be searched free of charge at: www.freebmd.org.uk. Some local register offices have made their own indexes available online: see ukbmd.org.uk.
You can get a certificate, for social security purposes only, from the local registrar where the birth was registered. If you obtain the copy soon after the birth is registered, you will be charged a lower fee. Once the register has been passed to the Superintendent Registrar, the full fee is charged. The certificate will be kept by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
You can get a copy of a certificate of a birth which took place in Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland, and details of the fees, from:-
The General Register Office
Oxford House
49-55 Chichester Street Belfast
BT1 4HL
Tel: 02890 252000
Website: www.groni.gov.uk
General Register Office
Government Offices
Convent Road
Roscommon
Tel: 00 353 (0)90 6632900
Website: www.groireland.ie
If you are aged 18 or over and have been adopted in England, Wales or Northern Ireland you can apply for a copy of your original birth certificate.
If all the birth details are known you should apply to the Superintendent Registrar in the district where your birth was registered. There is a fee for this.
If adopted before 12 November 1975, you will have to see an experienced counsellor before you can get information from the original birth certificate.
If adopted on or after 12 November 1975, you can choose whether or not you would like to see a counsellor before getting information about your birth certificate.
You can also obtain a copy of the adoption certificate issued after the adoption order was granted.
For more information about adoption, in England and Wales see Adopting a child in Family fact sheets. In Northern Ireland, see Young people and family.
If you were born abroad, the birth may also have been registered in the UK. If so, a copy of the certificate can be obtained in the usual way - see above.
If the birth has not been registered in the UK, you may be able to get a copy of the birth certificate from the country where you were born. This can be done by contacting the relevant embassy in the UK. Alternatively, the Overseas Registration Department at the General Register Office can contact the embassy on your behalf - see under heading Obtaining copies of birth certificates for address.
If you are unable to obtain a copy of your birth certificate from abroad, the Local Document Searches of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office may be able to help. A fee is charged. The address is:-
Local Document Searches
Consular Directorate
Rm K4.4.9
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
King Charles Street
London
SW1A 2AH
Website: www.fco.gov.uk
If you were baptised in the Indian sub-continent before 1947 you should check with the India Office Records at:-
Asia, Pacific and Africa Collections enquiries
The British Library
96 Euston Road
London
NW1 2DB
Tel: 020 7412 7873
Fax: 020 7412 7641
E-mail: apac-enquiries@bl.uk
Website: www.bl.uk
You can find information about the fees for copies of birth certificates in England and Wales on the Directgov website at: www.direct.gov.uk.
You can find information about the fees for copies of birth certificates in Northern Ireland on the General Register Office for Northern Ireland website at: www.groni.gov.uk.
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