Registering a Birth
To register a birth, you must first contact the Register Office to make an appointment.
When you come:
- Please bring your hospital discharge notes, or the baby's red health book when you register.
- If you are not married to the baby's father and you want his details on the register he must attend too. It is possible to register the birth without the father first, and for his details to be added at a later date. Please phone the office first in connection with this.
- If you marry the baby's father at a later date you are required by law to re-register the baby within 3 months of the date of the marriage. This is the case even if your baby was registered with father’s surname originally. Please contact the office if you need to re-register the baby even if you are outside the time limit – there are no penalties for being late.
- It is not possible to change the surname of the baby except by marriage to the baby’s father. However, if the registration is less than a year old you can change the baby's first name. The original register can be altered and a new birth certificate bought. If the registration is more than a year old you must contact a solicitor for an official change of name document.
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