Register a birth

Introduction

If your baby was born in the city of Peterborough the birth must be registered with us within 42 days of the date of the birth. However, due to the current waiting time for appointments, the 42 day requirement has been temporarily suspended until the backlog of birth registrations has been cleared.

How to register a birth

Birth registrations are by appointment only. To make an appointment with Peterborough register office to register a birth, you can either call our contact centre on 01733 864646, or you can book online.

Who can register

• If, as baby's natural parents, you are married to each other then either of you can register the baby
• If, as baby's natural parents, you are not married to each other, baby's mother must attend to register the baby. If both parents wish to be named on the register, then both of you must attend together
• if father’s details are not entered in the register at the time of the registration, there is a procedure for requesting they are added at a later date if you wish
• certain rules apply when registering a baby for same-sex couples which are available on GOV.UK website
• you do not need to bring the baby to the appointment.

How it works

Your private interview with the registrar will take approximately half an hour and you will need to bring:

• paperwork from the hospital/midwife showing your baby's NHS number or baby's red book
• photo ID for baby's natural parents.

You will be asked:

• date and place of your baby's birth (also the time if you are registering twins, triplets etc.)
• forename, surname and sex of your baby 
• your names and any previous names used before/since baby's birth
• your dates and places of birth
• your current/most recent occupations
• your addresses on the day you are registering and baby's mother's address on the day baby was born
• baby's mother's maiden name
• date of your marriage, if applicable
• number of previous children.

You will be given the opportunity to check that the information is correct and you will be asked to sign the register to state that you agree with the information as recorded. Once signed, the register entry becomes a legal document and therefore it is an offence to give false information. 

Any mistakes noticed after you have signed the register will require a lengthy correction process which may delay the corrected certificate being issued. See the paragraph below for how to correct a registration and the fees that will be charged.

Certificates

At the appointment to register the birth you will be able to buy as many birth certificates as you need. They will cost £11 each - currently we can only accept payment by card. If you need to apply for further certificates after attending your appointment, please go to our certificates page.

Special circumstances

If you are not a married couple and you are unable to visit the register office together, it may be possible to complete a statutory declaration of parentage. This form needs to be witnessed by a solicitor. The statutory declaration form must then be produced to the registrar at the time of the appointment. Please contact us for further information should you be in this situation.

Re-registration

If, as natural parents, you marry after your baby has been born, then you must have the birth re-registered so that the record shows the legal status of your child.

It is also possible to re-register if you wish to add the natural father's details, if they were not included at the initial registration and you have not married since.

Application forms are available to download online from Gov.uk website:

• Re-register a birth following marriage of natural parents
• Add the natural father, if parents have not married

You will need to complete the form at home and then email us at peterboroughregisteroffice@peterborough.gov.uk to let us know you are ready for an appointment to re-register. One of our registrars will call you back to book a mutually acceptable date and time.

For further help please call the register office on 01733 864646.

Corrections

After the birth has been registered, if you need to make any corrections please contact us. The process for correction is lengthy and may need to be authorised by the Registrar General which will add to the delay in the corrected certificate being issued. You may also be required to make a statutory declaration.

There are fees payable for the consideration of the correction and for any corrected certificates requested. The following national fees apply:

• Corrections which we are able to authorise locally: £75.00
• Corrections which we need to refer to the Registrar General: £90.00

In addition, you will also need to pay again for any certificates you require with the corrected information and, if it is required by the Registrar General, you may also need to pay for a statutory declaration.

For more information, please visit the Gov.uk website.