Registering a birth in special circumstances

Where neither the mother nor father can register the birth

Although in most cases, the birth of a baby is registered by the parents, sometime in exceptional circumstances neither the mother nor father is able to do this. In these circumstances, the registrar will arrange for the registration to be undertaken by whichever of the following people is best able to do so:

The occupier of the house or hospital where the child was born
A person who was present at the birth
A person who is responsible for the child

Registering the birth of a child conceived through fertility treatment

The woman who gives birth to the child (including surrogate mothers) will be shown as the child's mother in the birth register. The person who is to be regarded as the father of the child will generally speaking be the husband or partner who undertook the fertility treatment with the mother.

In the case of a surrogacy arrangement, the couple who arranged for the surrogate mother to carry the child for them can apply to the court for a parental order that will enable the birth to be re-registered to show them as the parents of the child.

Registration where the father dies before a child is conceived

Where a child is conceived as a result of fertility treatment after the death of a man receiving treatment with the mother, the man can be registered as the child's father on production of the following documentary evidence:

His written consent to the fertility treatment and to being named as the child's father in the birth register (not required where the man died before 18^th September 2003)
Written confirmation from the clinic that the man's consent had not been withdrawn (not required where the father died before 18^th September 2003)
The woman's written request for the man to be named as the father in the birth register
Written confirmation of the fertility treatment from a medical source, for example the fertility clinic, the mother's own doctor or hospital doctor
The original copy of the man's death certificate
A marriage certificate (if applicable)

Recording the man as the child's father in any of these circumstances does not mean that he will be treated in law as the child's father other than for registration purposes. Nor does it give the child any legal status or rights concerning for example inheritance or nationality.

Last Modified: 27/06/2007 13:47:19
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