Registering a birth in England: the 42-day deadline and who goes on the certificate

Registering a birth in England and Wales is not a formality you can put off: there is a hard deadline, and who actually turns up at the register office decides whether the father appears on the certificate at all. Here is how the process works, from the official gov.uk guidance.

How many days do you have to register a birth?

Births in England and Wales must be registered within 42 days of the child being born. That is calendar days, not working days, counted from the birth itself. Six weeks sounds generous, but the first weeks with a newborn disappear quickly, so it is worth putting the date in the calendar straight away.

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Where do you register?

At the local register office for the area where the baby was born. Often you can do it at the hospital before the mother leaves — the hospital will tell you whether it offers this, and it is the easiest route. If you cannot get to the right area, you can go to another register office instead: they will take your details and send them on to the correct office.

Who can register the birth?

If the parents are married or in a civil partnership, either one can register on their own and both will still appear on the certificate. That applies if the marriage or partnership existed when the baby was born or conceived.

If the parents are not married, the rules work differently, and this is the practical point that matters. The mother can register the birth alone, but then the father's details will not be included on the birth certificate.

How does an unmarried father get onto the certificate?

There are three routes. The simplest: both parents attend and sign the birth register together. Second: one parent completes a statutory declaration of parentage, and the other takes that signed form along when registering. Third: one parent registers using a court document, such as a court order giving the father parental responsibility.

If none of that happened and the mother registered alone, it is not final: it might be possible to add the father's details later through an application to re-register the birth. But that is a separate application and separate time, so attending together in the first place is far simpler.

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What if neither parent can go?

Then the birth can be registered by someone who was present at the birth, someone who is responsible for the child, or a member of the administrative staff at the hospital where the child was born. There is no situation in which registration simply cannot happen.

What about proof of paternity?

If you go to the register office alone and intend to include the other parent, you may be asked for proof of paternity from them. Check in advance what your office will accept: a signed statutory declaration settles the question far more reliably than a verbal agreement.

What does a birth certificate cost?

A standard copy costs 12.50 pounds and is sent about 4 days after you apply, provided you have a GRO index reference number. Without that number there is an extra 3.50 pounds per search, and the certificate takes 15 working days to be sent. If you need it quickly, the priority service costs 38.50 pounds, and an order placed by 4pm is sent the next working day.

You will usually need more than one copy: a birth certificate is asked for when applying for a passport, when claiming child benefit, and when enrolling at a school. Work out how many you need before paying for a second search.

What comes next?

Registering the birth is the gateway to everything else. It is what Child Benefit is claimed on, what a child's passport application rests on, and what proves the household where that is required. So the order is simple: meet the 42 days, order the number of certificate copies you will actually need, and then deal with the rest.