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When to register a birth
All births must be registered within 42 days of your child being born. This includes weekends and bank holidays.
Who can register a birth
Opposite-sex couples
Parents married or in a civil partnership
If you’re married or in a civil partnership, either parent can register the birth. Both parents will be named on the birth certificate.
If you’re not sure if your marriage or civil partnership is legally recognised here, you should both attend the appointment.
Parents not married or in a civil partnership
Both parents must attend together if the father is to be listed on the birth certificate.
The birth mother can register the birth alone, but the father will not be on the birth certificate. You can add his details in future by re-registering the birth.
Same-sex female couples
Female couples can include both their names on their child’s birth certificate when registering the birth.
Parents married or in a civil partnership
Either parent can register the birth on their own if all 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
Parents not married or in a civil partnership
When a mother is not 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’
To include both parents’ details on the birth certificate, you 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 they register the birth
- get a document from the court (for example, a court order) giving the second female parent parental responsibility and one parent shows the document when she registers the birth
Same-sex male couples
Male couples must get a parental order from the court before they can be registered as parents.
Who else can register a birth
If the parents cannot register the birth (for example, for medical reasons), it can be done by:
- 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
How to register a birth
Where to register a birth
The birth should be registered with the local authority it happened in. If it happened in the borough of Camden, you should register it with us.
If you cannot visit us, you can go to another register office in England or Wales. That office will then send the details to us.
Book an appointment
To register a birth, you’ll need to make an appointment to visit our register office at Camden Town Hall, 5 Judd Street, WC1H 9JE. We do not take walk-in appointments.
If you cannot book an appointment online or need help to book, contact us.
Our register office is step-free. Let us know in advance of your appointment if you need:
- a translator or British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter (this can take several weeks to arrange, so bring a friend or relative to do this if you can)
- support for a disability or health condition
What you should bring
You do not need to bring your baby to the appointment, but you can bring them if you want to.
You should bring:
- photographic identification (such as a passport or driving licence) for each parent to be recorded on the birth certificate
- your baby’s personal child health record, known as the red book
What happens at the appointment
At your appointment, you’ll meet with a registrar, who is responsible for creating legal records of births. You’ll meet with them in a private room and your appointment will take around 30 minutes.
The registrar will ask you about your baby:
- the date and place of their birth (the time of birth will be required for each baby if you have twins, triplets, and so on)
- their sex
- their first name and last name
The registrar will ask about the mother:
- first name and last name, including maiden name if relevant
- date and place of birth
- usual address at the date of the baby’s birth
- current occupation (or previous, if unemployed)
If relevant, the registrar will ask about the father:
- first name and last name
- date and place of birth
- current occupation (or previous, if not currently working)
What happens next
Once you’ve registered the birth, you can buy a birth certificate. This is an important legal document. You may need a birth certificate to prove you have parental responsibility, and to apply for things like a passport, benefits or school places.
There are 2 types of birth certificate:
- the short version, which contains only the baby’s details
- the full version, which also contains the parents’ details
Registering the birth is free, but birth certificates are not included. You can buy copies before or during your appointment. If you need more, you can order copies of the birth certificate online at any time. You might need copies because some organisations require an original certificate – we advise you to get 3 copies.
Child Benefit
You may be able to get Child Benefit, which is an allowance paid to you for each child you’re responsible for. You can claim it 48 hours after registering the birth. You’ll need to show the birth certificate to make a claim. Find more information on Child Benefit on GOV.UK.
Keepsake folder for birth certificates
You can buy an A4 folder to keep the birth certificate in. There’s space to add your baby's details and their handprint and footprint.
It costs £3.60. You can order it when you book your appointment or buy it at the register office reception when you visit.
Contact us
If you have any questions, you can contact us by:
- phone on 020 7974 4444, Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 4.30pm
- email at [email protected]
- SignVideo, for British Sign Language users, 24 hours a day
You can cancel or reschedule your appointment using our online form.
Find our privacy notice, which explains how the information we collect about you is used and your rights in relation to this.