Re-register a birth

Re-registering means making a new record in the birth register. Re-registration of a birth is only available for births that took place in England or Wales.

There is no charge to re-register a birth. However, birth certificates can be purchased from the district where your child was born for £12.50 by debit or credit card.

You may wish to re-register a birth to:

  • add the natural father’s / parent’s details if it was not originally provided
  • amend the parent’s marital or civil partnership status after the birth, even if the natural parent’s details were entered during the original birth registration
 

If biological parents marry each other after the birth of their child, they are legally required to apply for the re-registration of their child’s birth. 

Re-registration forms

You can re-register a birth by:

  • getting a form from any register office in England or Wales
  • downloading a form from the GOV.UK website
  • downloading an online form 

Re-registering a birth after marriage (LA1)

Re-registering a birth to include the natural father's details (GRO185)

Booking an appointment

You will need to contact the registration office where they were born, not where you or your child live now.

Please call Leicestershire Registration Services on 0116 305 6565 to make an appointment if your baby was born in the district of Leicestershire.

Most re-registrations can be made at your district’s register office. However, some applications may be referred to the Registrar General.

Informing us of a re-registration

If you can’t attend the register office in the district where the birth occurred, you can re-register at another register office by declaration. 

During your appointment, the information of the birth will be documented and forwarded to the relevant district for them to finalise and complete the registration. You will not receive your child’s birth certificate at this appointment. Certificates can be purchased from the district completing the registration.

What to bring

You will need to bring the following information to the appointment.

Information about the child:

  • date and place of birth - for multiple births, you'll also need to provide the time each child was born
  • sex of the child
  • accurate spellings of the first name(s) and surname of the child
  • the child’s birth certificate

Information about the parents:

  • accurate spellings of your full name and contact details
  • a marriage certificate if relevant

Information about the re-registration:

  • the type of re-registration - after marriage or civil partnership, to include natural parent's details or re-register by declaration
  • a completed LA1 or GRO185 form

You should also bring at least one form of photo identification.