Registering a birth

Congratulations on the birth of your baby. If your child was born in Surrey you can register the birth at Camberley, Guildford, Leatherhead, Reigate or Weybridge Register Offices.

You must book an appointment in advance to register a birth.

Page contents

• Who can register a child's birth?
• Details the registrar will need to know
• What to bring to the registration?
• How much does it cost?
• Booking your appointment
• Child benefit
• Registering your child with a doctor
• Requesting your birth re-registration appointment
• Applying for a correction to your existing birth registration

Who can register a child's birth?

• If the parents were married to each other, or in a registered civil partnership with each other at the time of the birth, the mother, father or second parent can register the birth. If the parents were not in a marriage or not in a registered civil partnership together, the father or second parent must attend the appointment with the mother if their details are to be included on the registration; if the mother attends alone, no father's or second parent's details will be recorded.
• If two female parents are not in a marriage or registered civil partnership together, both must attend the appointment and meet the requirements of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act if the second female details are to be included on the registration; if the mother attends alone, no second female parent details will be recorded.

Details the registrar will need to know

• Place and date of the birth
• Forenames and surname you have chosen for the child
• Sex of the child
• Parents' names, surnames and address (including any former names)
• Places and dates of parents' birth
• Date of parents' marriage or civil partnership (if applicable)
• Parents' occupations
• Mother's maiden surname (if applicable).

What to bring to the registration

Please bring your 'Red Book' or any birth paperwork provided by the hospital or midwife.

It would also be useful to bring:

• Your passport or birth certificate
• Proof of your current address
• Proof of any former name or names (for example, change of name deed or marriage/civil partnership certificate)
• Birth certificate of any previous children
• Your marriage or civil partnership certificate where applicable.

Please note that you are not legally required to produce these documents but if you do they can help to ensure your child's birth is correctly registered.

If you do not speak or understand English please bring someone who can translate for you. Please contact us if you need help.

You are not required to bring your baby to the appointment.

How much does it cost

• It is free to register a birth.
• A full birth certificate containing the parents' details can be ordered when you book your appointment. If you choose to do this the payment must be made at the same time, by debit or credit card.
• However, certificates can also purchased on the day of registration, by debit or credit card.
• Certificates are £12.50 each. A full birth certificate will be required during the child's life for many purposes, including applying for passport and child benefit.

Payment for certificates can be made by debit or credit card.

Book your birth registration appointment

If your child was born in Surrey you can register the birth at Camberley, Guildford, Leatherhead, Reigate or Weybridge register offices.

If your child needs to be registered with a Statutory declaration or a Parental order, please do not book your appointment on line, please call 0300 200 1002 and ask for the Nominated officer to book your appointment.

Book your appointment

• West Sussex residents: If you live in West Sussex and your baby was born at East Surrey Hospital, you can also register your baby at the Crawley Register Office.
• Hampshire residents: If you live in Hampshire and your baby was born at Frimley Park Hospital or Royal Surrey County Hospital, you can also register your baby at a Hampshire Register Office in Aldershot, Alton, Basingstoke and Petersfield register offices.

It is important that you do not come into the register offices if you or anyone in your household has symptoms of coronavirus including a persistent cough or high temperature, loss of sense of smell or taste, or feel unwell. Please seek medical advice if this is the case.

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Child benefit

You can claim Child Benefit as soon as you've registered the birth of your child. Child Benefit can be backdated for up to three months. Information about Child benefit can be found on GOV.UK including the Child benefit claim form CH2.

For your first child, this must be printed out, filled in, and sent to the Child benefit office. If you don't have access to a printer, you can call 0300 200 3100 and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will send you a form in the post. The form also contains information for the small minority of families who may be eligible for the High-Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC). If you already have a Child benefit claim, you can add further children by calling HMRC on the number above.

Registering your child with a doctor

New parents can register their baby with a doctor's practice without a birth certificate.

Requesting your Birth re-registration appointment

Appointments to re-register a birth cannot be made online. You will need to request a re-registration appointment if you are:

• re-registering your child following your marriage or civil partnership.
• adding father's or second parent's details to an existing registration.

Applying for a correction to your existing birth registration

If you want to make a correction or change to an existing registration you will need to contact us.