How do I register a birth?

Registration is free, it is a legal duty, and the version people find difficult is the unmarried-parents one — because whether the father's name goes on the certificate is tied to whether he acquires parental responsibility, and the mechanism for doing it without both parents attending is not obvious. Working out in advance which of the three routes applies saves a wasted appointment.

Step by step

1. Book the right office.England and Wales: normally the register office for the district where the baby was born, or another office which will take a declaration and forward it. Scotland: any registration office in the country. Northern Ireland: any district registration office, by appointment.
2. Diarise the deadline.Forty-two days from the birth in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Twenty-one days in Scotland. Registering late is possible and is dealt with by the registrar, but it is much simpler inside the period.
3. Married or civil-partner parents: either can go.One parent can register and both will be recorded on the certificate. Take whatever the registrar asks for by way of identity and the details of both parents.
4. Unmarried parents: understand the three routes.Both attend and sign the register together; or one attends with a statutory declaration of parentage completed by the other; or one attends with a court order giving the father parental responsibility. The mother can also register alone, in which case the father's details are simply omitted and can be added later by re-registration.
5. Understand what joint registration does.For an unmarried father, being named on the register jointly confers parental responsibility. The date from which that applies differs: births registered from December 2003 in England and Wales, from May 2006 in Scotland, and — note the different trigger — children born from April 2002 in Northern Ireland.
6. Female same-sex parents: check which route applies.Where the parents were married or in a civil partnership at the time of conception by donor insemination or fertility treatment, either can register. Where they were not, the second parent can be recorded where the treatment took place at a UK licensed clinic with the required parenthood agreement in place. Male couples need a parental order.
7. Take the paperwork the registrar asks for.Details of the birth, the parents' full names, dates and places of birth, the mother's maiden surname, and the parents' occupations. Identity documents for whoever attends. The hospital discharge or birth notification if you have one.
8. Decide the name before you go.The name is recorded at registration. Changing it afterwards is possible but involves a further process, so agree it first.
9. Buy certificates while you are there.Certificates are usually cheapest at registration and get more expensive later, particularly in Scotland where the price rises after the first month. Buy at least two — several organisations want an original and will keep it for a while.
10. Get the full certificate, not only the short one.A short certificate shows the child's details and no parentage, and is generally accepted only as proof of age. A full certificate is what a passport application and most identity checks need.
11. Northern Ireland: choose the certificate language at registration.Certificates for new registrations can be issued in English, Irish or bilingually, chosen at the point of registration. The choice cannot be changed afterwards.

Tips

• Agree the full name, including spelling, before the appointment. Changing it afterwards is a separate process.
• Take the details of both parents' own births — the registrar asks for places and dates, and looking them up in the office is slow.
• Buy the extra certificates on the day. It is the cheapest they will ever be.

Common mistakes

• Buying only one certificate — Originals are often retained by the organisation you send them to, and a second copy costs a fraction of the first at registration and considerably more later.
• Assuming the rules are the same across the UK — The deadline, the offices you can use, whether you can register remotely and the parental responsibility date all differ between England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

If it doesn't work

Questions people ask