In England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, all births must be recorded within 42 days of the child’s birth.
You should do this before the woman leaves the hospital or at the local registration office for the region where the baby was born. The hospital will inform you if the birth can be registered here.
However, Suppose you cannot register the birth in the area where the baby was born. In that case, you may go to another registered office and forward your information to the appropriate office.
There are different rules on registering a child’s birth in each area’s Birth Registration for Scotland, Birth Registration of Northern Ireland, Birth Registration for Overseas.
When it comes to registering a birth, you’ll need the following information.
When registering a child’s birth, keep the following in mind:
- Parents’ names, surnames, and addresses
- places and dates of parents birth date.
- parents’ marriage or civil partnership parents’ jobs
- Maiden surname of the mother.
Depending on who is registering the child’s birth, you may not be required to provide all of this information.
What you need to bring to the Registration of your Child’s Birth
When you visit the registration office, you need to bring at least one form of identification with you. You may make use of:
- Passport
- Birth Certificate
- Deed poll
- Driver’s License
- Proof of Address (example, bill of utility)
- Council Tax Bill
- Marriage or Civil Participate Certificate
Some registrars may request to view your child’s health record or red book.
If you’re travelling to the registration office by yourself, you could need confirmation of paternity from the other parent before giving their information.
Organizations to contact
Having a kid may have an impact on your taxes, benefits, and local government services.
The Tell Us Once program can simultaneously notify the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) and your local council of a birth. If this service is being offered in your location, the registrar will let you know.
When you go to a Tell Us Once appointment, you’ll be asked about the following topics:
- the people whose names will appear on the birth certificate
- do they have any living companions
You’ll need to know the following about each individual:
- Their phone number and addresses.
- Date of Birth
- National Insurance Number
- any subsidies they receive or have claimed it.
If the Tell Us Once service isn’t accessible in your area, you’ll have to inquire about your benefits and services with Jobcentre Plus and your local government.
Following the registration of the birth
You may be eligible to claim the following benefits once you’ve registered the birth:
Couples of the opposite sex
Parents who are married or have a civil union
Either parent on their own can register a birth. Also, If the parents were married or in a civil partnership when the child was born or conceived, they can include both parents’ information.
Parenting without a spouse
If one of the following occurs, both parents’ information can be listed on the birth certificate:
- Signing the birth together
- One parent fills out a statutory declaration of parentage form, then signs and taken it to the county clerk’s office to be registered.
- One parent travels to register the birth with a legal document (such as a court order) granting parental responsibility to the father.
Download the Statutory declaration of parentage here.
If the mother and kid are not married or in a civil partnership, the mother can register a child’s birth without the father. The name of the father will automatically not appear on the birth certificate.
By applying for the re-registration of a child’s birth, it may be feasible to add the father’s details at a later point.
Download the Application for the Birth Registration here.
Female couples who share the same gender
When recording a child’s birth, female couples can put both of their names on the birth certificate.
Parents who are married or have a civil union
If all of the following are true, either parent may register the birth on their own:
She was married or in a civil relationship at the therapy and has a child through donor insemination or fertility treatment.
Parents who are not married or have a civil partner
If a woman is not married or in a civil partnership, her partner can be considered the child’s second parent if the two women:
- In the United Kingdom, a registered clinic treats them all together.
- a ‘parenthood accord’ has been reached
Both parents must, however, do one of the following for their names to appear on the birth certificate:
- They have registered the child together.
- Complete a ‘Statutory statement of acknowledgement of parenthood’ form, and one parent must sign it before the birth may be registered.
- Obtain a legal document (for example, a court order) granting parental responsibility to the second female parent, then have one parent submit the document when she registers the birth.
Male partners who are of the same sexual orientation
Before being able to register as parents, male couples must obtain a parental order from the court.
Other individuals who have the authority to record a birth
If the parents are unable to register the birth (for medical reasons, for example), sure others can:
- a witness to a child’s birth
- a member of the administrative staff at the hospital where the child was born,
- or someone accountable for the child
Documents of birth
A birth certificate might be of two types:
- the condensed version, which includes information about the baby
- the whole version, which includes the information about the parents
You can purchase a short or full certificate for your infant once you’ve registered the birth. The cost of both is £11.
You will immediately receive a certificate if you register the birth in the region where it occurred. You’ll obtain it in a few days if you register the birth somewhere else. The registered office can sell you additional copies of the birth certificate at any time.