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Register a birth

Births in England or Wales must be registered in the district in which they take place.

Before you go to the Register Office please see below on how to make an appointment.

You must register the birth in the registration district where your baby was born. If your baby was born at home in Sefton you can register at either Crosby or Southport Register Office.


Before attending the Registrar's office please ensure you make an appointment.

The quickest and easiest way to do so is via email. You can contact us here.

Please provide your name, telephone number, baby's date of birth and place of birth when you contact us.

We aim to reply to you by seven working days. 

If you do not have email access please call 0151 934 3044 (select option 4)

If the parents of the child were married to each other at the time of the birth (or conception), either the mother or the father may register.

If the parents were not married to each other at the time of the child's birth (or conception), the father's particulars may be entered in the register only in the following circumstances:

  • the mother and father go to the register office and sign the birth register together
  • where the father is unable to go to the register office with the mother, the father may make a statutory declaration acknowledging his paternity which the mother must produce to the registrar 
  • where the mother is unable to go to the register office with the father. the mother may make a statutory declaration acknowledging the father's paternity which the father must produce to the registrar
  • where the mother and father have made a parental responsibility agreement or either has obtained an appropriate court order, the agreement or order should be produced to the registrar by either parent
  • If the father's particulars are not recorded in the birth register, it may be possible for the birth to be re-registered to include his details at a later date. 



The mother of a child, and the father if he is married to the mother, automatically have parental responsibility.

Where the parents are not married to each other, the father can acquire parental responsibility if he acts with the mother to have his name recorded in the child's birth registration on or after 1 December 2003. An unmarried father can also obtain parental responsibility by later marrying the child's mother, by making a parental responsibility agreement with her or by getting a court order. 

Date and place of birth; if the birth is one of twins, triplets, etc the time of each child's birth will also be needed sex of the child, the forename(s) and surname in which it is intended that the child will be brought up.

Mother's forename(s) and surname, maiden surname if the mother is, or has been, married, date and place of birth, occupation at the time of the child's birth or, if not employed at that time, the last occupation, usual address at the date of the birth, date of marriage, if married to the child's father at the time of the birth number of previous children by the present husband and by any former husband.

Father's (where this information is to be entered in the register), forename(s) and surname, date and place of birth, occupation at the time of the child's birth or, if not employed at that time, the last occupation.


Copies of certificates are £11 each. You can purchase these at the time of your appointment. You can also purchase copies online anytime afterwards. To do so click here.

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. From 1 November 2017, due to legislative changes, the fee for this will be £40 (for consideration of the application, processing and updating the entry.) 

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.

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.


Last Updated on Thursday, March 24, 2022

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