Correct a birth registration

birth registration

What corrections can be made

When information in a birth registration is incorrect, such as when a parent’s employment was incorrectly recorded, you can request a correction.

If your circumstances change after you’ve registered your child’s birth, such as if you change your name after remarrying, you won’t be able to file for a correction to show new information.

If the natural parents marry at a later date, you can request to re-register the birth.

Removing the wrong father’s details

If you can show that the guy identified on the certificate is not the child’s natural father, you can petition to have the registered father changed. Here are some examples of proof:

  • a DNA test record from an approved tester
  • a court order
  • evidence that confirms the name of the true biological father
  • other evidence that confirms the recorded father could not have been the child’s natural father

What happens if you change gender

You’ll be able to order a new birth certificate with your new gender on it if you get your gender transition legally recognized.

What the correction looks like

If your application is granted, the office’s register for the region where your kid was born is corrected.

The registry will always display the original information. A remark will be added to the register’s margin when the adjustment has been approved. This will clarify what is correct information and when it was corrected.

The notation in the margin will appear on all complete birth certificates produced following the revision.

Short birth certificates will merely provide the child’s information and will not include a remark in the margin; they will simply reflect any new information that is correct.

Who can apply

Corrections can be requested by the following people:

  • the mother
  • the father (if his details are on the certificate)

Both parents must sign the application form if you’re changing a child’s name and both parents’ names are on the certificate.

If the parents are unavailable, the kid identified on the certificate may be entitled to request a revision.

Removing the wrong father’s details

The presence of the identified father in the rectification process is not always required. If two of the following persons ask to have the entry altered, the General Register Office (GRO) can rectify it:

  • the mother
  • the natural father
  • the man named on the birth certificate as the father

The application form must be signed by at least one of these people.

You must give the mother’s, the guy identified as the father on the certificate, and the real biological father’s contact information (if he took part in a DNA test).