Register a Birth

When and where to register a birth

Appointments and drop-in service

Who can register

Information needed to register

Certificates

When and where to register a birth

All births in England and Wales must be registered within 42 days of the child being born. You should do this at the Register Office in for the area where the baby was born.

If you cannot register the birth in the area where the baby was born, you can go to another Register Office and they will send your details to the correct office. This is called registering by declaration.

Appointments and drop-in service

If your child was born in Newcastle upon Tyne you should register the birth at Newcastle Register Office.

We offer a drop-in service for most birth registrations.  We are open Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 4pm.

There are a few circumstances where an appointment is necessary:

• Re-registrations
• Declarations (to other districts)
• Registration of a still birth
• Certificate corrections

To make an appointment you should contact the Register Office.

Who can register

An unmarried mother can always register a baby's birth alone without including the details of a second parent. Where a second parent is to be included, please read the information below:

• If the parents are married when the baby is born, either parent may register the birth. 
• If the baby’s parents are not married, and they want a father’s details to be included in the register, both parents should attend the office together to register the birth.
• If the baby’s parents are not married, and they want a second mother’s details to be included in the register, both parents should attend with the appropriate paperwork.

For other parental circumstances, please visit gov.uk's Register a Birth page for guidelines.

If the parents subsequently marry each other they should re-register their baby.

Information needed to register a birth

You will be asked for the following information:

• The date and place of birth (if the birth is a multiple birth (e.g. twins or triplets) the times of each birth are needed)
• The baby’s forename, surname and sex
• The baby’s parents' forenames, surname,  place of birth and occupation
• If applicable, the baby's mother's maiden name
• Addresses of the baby's parents both at the time of registration and at the time of birth

To improve the accuracy of our records it would be helpful if you could bring one or several of the following documents:

• Your passport
• Your council tax bill
• Your driving licence
• All marriage or civil partnership certificates
• Your birth certificate
• Deed Poll

If you do not have the above documents, we can still go ahead with registering the birth.

Certificates

You can purchase a certified copy of the original entry at the time of registration or at a later date. Certificate charges can be found on our fees page.

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