Registering a Birth

You have a legal responsibiliy to register the birth of your baby within 42 days of the birth.  (Please note that as of 1 November 2017, due to legislative changes, you will no longer be issued with a free short birth certificate).

Who can register a birth?

Opposite Sex Couples

If the baby's mother and father were married to each other at the time of th birth, either parent may register.

If the mother and father were not married at the time of the birth, the mother may register alone, but the father's details can only be entered if they attend to register together.

If this is difficult, the mother or father may make a statutory declaration using a prescribed form (please contact us for further details) or the father's details can be added by re-registering the child at a later date.

Other people may register the birth in exceptional circumstances. For further information please call 0161 234 5005.

Same Sex Couples

Same sex couples can now become equal legal parents of children they conceive together or conceive through a surrogate.

Lesbian couples who are married or civil partners at the time of the conception and conceive a child through artificial insemination will both automatically be treated as their child's legal parents. In these circumstances either parent may register the birth.

Lesbian couples who are not married or civil partners at the time of conception but who conceive together through a fertility clinic in the UK licensed by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority may also be treated as legal parents. In these circmstances, the mother may register the birth alone, but the second parent's details can only be entered if they attend to register together. If this is difficult, the mother or second parent may make a statutory declaration using a prescribed form (please contact us for further details) or the second parent's details can be added by re-registering the child at a later date.

Other people may register the birth in exceptional circumstances. For further information please call 0161 234 5005.

Different options are available to gay men, depending on their specific circumstances.