Birth re-registration appointments suspended
We are temporarily suspending birth re-registration appointments from 21 May to September 2025, so that we can prioritise appointments for birth and death registrations, which are time sensitive and critical.
We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your understanding.
Suspension of birth re-registration appointments 21 May to September 2025
We regret to inform you that our registration service is experiencing delays in offering statutory appointments within our usual timeframes.
As a result, we are temporarily suspending birth re-registration appointments from 21 May to September 2025, so that we can prioritise appointments for birth and death registrations, which are time sensitive and critical.
If you have already submitted a form requesting a birth re-registration appointment, please be assured that we are processing existing requests and will contact you in due course.
If you require a re-registration appointment following a Court Order, please contact us and we will support your request.
This suspension will be reviewed in September 2025.
We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your understanding.
Types of re-registration appointments
There are three types of re-registration for a child born in England or Wales:
- Following the natural parents' marriage to show the child as a child of marriage. This type of re-registration is a legal requirement.
- To add the natural father's details where the existing record does not show any father and the child's natural parents have not married each other since the date of the child's birth.
- Following the marriage or civil partnership of two female parents to show the child as a child of marriage or civil partnership.
If you wish to change the child's surname, it can be changed to the same as the mother, the natural father or any combination of the two as long as both parents agree to the change. Where the child is 16 years or over, their written consent will be required. You cannot change a child's forenames at re-registration.
There is no charge for the re-registration of a birth. However, new birth certificates can be purchased on the day of re-registration for a cost of £12.50 for each certificate.
Re-registration following the natural parents' marriage
- A completed application to re-register a birth following marriage or civil partnership of natural parents form (LA1), signed by both parents, for each child to be re-registered.
- Your original marriage certificate. If you were not married in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, we will need to refer your application to the General Register Office for authorisation before any re-registration can take place.
- One parent is required to attend at the register office for the re-registration.
Adding the natural father's details
This type of re-registration gives the natural father parental responsibility for the child. This responsibility can only be removed by a court. You may wish to seek legal advice on this prior to your application.
- A completed application to re-register a child's birth and add the natural father's details form (GRO 185), signed by both parents, for each child to be re-registered.
- Both parents are required to attend at the register office for the re-registration. If there is a reason why both parents cannot attend together, please contact us to discuss your situation.
Re-registering a child born to two female parents
Authorisation is required from the General Register Office to re-register a child born to two female parents. To obtain more information and the required application form, contact us.
Contact us
Please contact us if you have any questions regarding birth re-registration.
