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Re-registration of a child's birth

What is a re-registration of birth?

There are two main situations in which the child's parents may request the birth to be re-registered:

To show that the parents are now married

If the natural parents have married each other since the birth was registered, the birth should be re-registered to accurately record the current legal status of the child.

You can get a form from Registration Services which both parents need to sign. Either parent can go to the register office with the completed form and a copy of the marriage certificate. The birth can then be re-registered and the child's surname changed as part of this process. You can buy copies of the re-registered birth certificate from the registrar.

A new birth record will then be created which will show the child as a child of the parents' marriage or civil partnership. This replaces the original registration and all future copy birth certificates will be issued from this new record.

Adding the father's details to the birth record

If the child's natural parents were not married at the time of the birth and the father did not attend with the mother to register the birth of the baby, the birth record can be amended at any time to include the father's details and to change the surname of the child. You can get the form you need from Registration Services.

The easiest way for a birth to be re-registered is for both parents to attend at a register office together. It is possible for either parent to make a statutory declaration before a solicitor or other person able to legally witness an oath to acknowledge parentage of the child. It is also possible for either parent to get a court order naming the father. In any of these situations, the birth will be registered again. You can buy copies of the re-registered certificate from the registrar. 


How do I re-register a birth?

Re-registration After Marriage

Please note: re-registration cannot be completed in advance, it can only happen after your marriage or civil partnership ceremony.

Both parents need to fill in an LA1 form for each child, from the Gov.uk website. You can also get this form from a registration office.

Send the form with the child’s birth certificate and your marriage/civil partnership certificate to the Registration Office where you would like to have the appointment, this doesn't have to be the office that you initially registered the birth in. 

Once the registration office receives the form they will contact you to book an appointment. Only one parent will need to attend this appointment although both are welcome.

Re-registration to add father's details

Both parents need to fill in a GRO 185 form for each child, from the Gov.uk website. You can also get this form from a registration office.

Send the form with the child’s birth certificate to the Registration Office where you would like to have the appointment, this doesn't have to be the office that you initially registered the birth in. 

Once the registration office receives the form they will contact you to book an appointment. Both parents will need to attend this appointment.

If the parents were not married to each other at the time of the birth and it was decided to give the child the father's name (whether he attended the initial registration with the mother or not) it is not always possible to change the child's surname back to that of the mother. The only alternative would be to speak to a solicitor to make a statutory declaration or deed poll changing the name of the child. This would not change the entry on the original birth register.

The statutory declaration or deed poll should be attached to the birth certificate to show that the child has been brought up with a surname different to that shown on the original birth record.

For more information please contact us.


Fees and charges

There is no charge for this service, but you can purchase a new full birth certificate for your child which you will need for many official purposes, such as passport applications.

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