Register a birth
By law you must register a birth within 42 days of the child being born.
You should do this at the local register office for the area of the hospital where the baby was born.
If you can't 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.
Cost
There is no charge for the birth registration itself. If you require birth certificates, any number of these may be purchased on the day of registration.
Book an appointment to register a birth
For information about how we store your data please read the Kirklees Registration Service Privacy Notice
Due to the current demands on the Registration service, birth registration appointments are limited and will be booked by registration staff only. If the birth occurred within Kirklees more than 4 weeks ago, please get in touch with our Huddersfield office directly to schedule an appointment on Phone 01484 221030 and hold the line to speak to a Registrar.
Paperclip To complete this booking you will need;
- place and date of the birth
- name, surname and sex of the baby
- parents' names, surnames and address
- places and dates of parents' birth
- date of parents' marriage or civil partnership
- parents' job
- mother's maiden surname
After you've booked
You will have a date, time and location to attend to register the birth.
What you should bring to the appointment
You should take at least one form of identification when you go to the register office. You can use:
- passport
- birth certificate
- deed poll
- driving licence
- proof of address (e.g. utility bill)
- Council Tax bill
- marriage or civil partnership certificate
If you're going to the register office on your own, you may need proof of paternity from the other parent before you give their details.
You should also take your child's personal child health record or 'red book'.
Who can register a birth
Either parent can register the birth on their own. They can include both parents' details if they were married when the baby was born or conceived.
The details of both parents can be included on the birth certificate if one of the following happens:
- they sign the birth register together
- one parent completes a Statutory declaration of parentage and the other takes the signed form to register the birth
- one parent goes to register the birth with a document from the court (eg a court order) giving the father parental responsibility
The mother can choose to register the birth on her own if she isn't married to the child's father. The father's details won't be included on the birth certificate.
It might be possible to add the father's details at a later date by completing an Application for the re-registration of a child's birth.
Female couples can include both their names on their child's birth certificate when registering the birth.
Either parent can register the birth on her own if all of the following are true:
- the mother has a child by donor insemination or fertility treatment
- she was married or in a civil partnership at the time of the treatment
When a mother isn't married or in a civil partnership, her partner can be seen as the child's second parent if both women:
- are treated together in the UK by a licensed clinic
- have made a parenthood agreement
However, for both parents' details to be recorded on the birth certificate, they must do one of the following:
- register the birth jointly
- complete a Statutory declaration of acknowledgement of parentage form and one parent takes the signed form when she registers the birth
- get a document from the court (eg a court order) giving the second female parent parental responsibility and one parent shows the document when she registers the birth
Male couples must Get a parental order from the court before they can be registered as parents.
If the parents can't register the birth (e.g. for medical reasons), certain other people can do it:
- someone who was present at the birth
- someone who is responsible for the child
- a member of the administrative staff at the hospital where the child was born
Don't miss out on Child Benefit
Claim Child Benefit includes a form to print out and fill in for your first child. It also contains information for the small minority of families who may be eligible for the High-Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC).
If you don't have access to a printer, Phone 0300 200 3100 to be sent a form in the post.
You can also call this number if you already have a Child Benefit claim and need to add further children.