Register a birth
Register a birth
By law, all births must be registered in person within 42 days at a register office or Family Hub.
Who can register the birth?
Married/civil-partnership parents
Either parent can register the birth and both parent's details will be recorded.
Unmarried parents
The mother alone can register.
If the father or second parent is present, their details can be added. If not, both parents must make a statutory declaration to add the details.
The father's details can be added later by re-registration.
Registering a second female parent
The parent who carries the child during pregnancy is known as 'Mother'. The second parent is recorded as 'Parent'.
If the female parents were married at the time of conception treatment (and any Parenthood Agreements made at a UK licenced clinic have not been withdrawn), the child is registered as a child in marriage.
Both parents' details are recorded on the registration when the child was conceived through treatment at a UK licenced clinic, a Parenthood Agreement has been signed, and consent has not been withdrawn.
Only the carrying mother's details are recorded when a child is conceived outside of a UK licenced clinic and the parents are not married. The second female parent's details may be added by re-registration if a Parental Agreement is received from a court.
Telephone: 01670 622 378
Information for unmarried couples
The law has made it easier for unmarried fathers to get equal parental responsibility, providing both parents register the birth together.
Parental responsibility gives you important legal rights, treating you as the child's parent.
Without that, you have no right to be involved with decisions affecting your child's life.
Telephone: 01670 622 378.
Book an appointment
You need to have a face-to-face appointment at a Register Office or Family Hub
Telephone: 0345 600 6400
The appointment will take 20 minutes.
Required items for your appointment
The baby does not need to attend.
There's no charge for registration. Additional certificates can be ordered for a fee of £12.50.
If available, bring:
- both parents' birth certificates
- if applicable, parents' marriage certificate
You will be asked:
- baby's date and place of birth
- time of birth (if a multiple birth)
- sex of baby
- baby's full first names (s) and surname
- parents' full first name(s) and surname
- mother's maiden name (if applicable)
- parents' occupation, or if unemployed, their last occupation
- town and county of parent's birth
- parents' address
Other information we may ask
The following information is required under the Population (Statistics) Act. The details are not entered into the register but are used confidentially for statistical information by the registrar general.
- parents' date of birth
- date of parents' marriage, if applicable
- whether the mother has been married more than once
- number of previous live and still births
Signing the register page
We will ask you to sign the register page.
It is important you check all the details are correct before doing this.
If a mistake is found later, a fee of up to £99 will be payable to make a correction.
Parents who live in North Tyneside
If you live in North Tyneside and your baby was born at Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital in Cramlington, you will be able to do a birth declaration at the Riverside Children's Centre in North Shields.
To make an appointment:
Telephone: 0191 643 8899
Babies born outside of Northumberland
It may be convenient for you to attend one of our register offices to complete a birth declaration.
This allows the details of the birth to be sent to the district where it occurred and registered there.
This service is not available at our Family Hubs.
Birth certificate changes
The first name(s) of the baby can be changed once in the 12 months after birth, providing the child was not baptised with the original name.
A £44 fee is payable for name changes.
Contact your local register office for advice.
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