Changing a Child's Name After Registration

Changing Details on a Birth Certificate

Change the first name of my child

If you decide to change your child's first name(s) within 12 months of the date of the registration of the birth you are able to do so on the original birth registration.

If the child has been baptised in the Christian faith within the 12 month period after birth registration you can obtain a form from the Register Office to take to the Minister of the Church in which the child was baptised. Once this form has been completed it needs to be returned to the Register Office and the amended names can be inserted into space 17 of the original birth register. This process can be done at any time after the birth as long as the baptism took place within 12 months of the registration. You can then purchase certified copies from this amended registration. From 1st November there is a statutory fee for this service of £40.

The full copy certificate will contain both the original name and the new name given in baptism. The short version certificate will only record the child's amended baptismal forename(s). If the child has not been baptised the parents can complete a form at the Register Office. Once again this process can be done at any time after the birth as long as it can be proved that the change of name took place within 12 months of the birth registration. Once the form has been completed the amended name(s) will be inserted into space 17 of the original birth registration. Certified copies of the amended registration can then be purchased. The full copy certificate will contain both the original name and the new name in space 17. The short version certificate will only record the child's amended forename. From 1st November there is a statutory fee for this service of £40.

Change the surname of my child

Under normal circumstances it is not possible to change the surname after registration, unless this is by the re-registration process.

The only alternative will be to consult a solicitor and make a statutory declaration or deed poll changing the surname of the child. This will not change the original birth registration. The statutory declaration or deed poll document should be attached to the birth certificate and this will provide evidence that the child is being brought up in a surname different to that recorded in the birth registration.

Correct a mistake in the naming of my child at the time of registration

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Correct a Birth Registration

 

Please note there is a statutory fee for the consideration of corrections. Payment must be made when submitting the application for the correction. The Register Office will be able to inform you of the fee.