A birth can be re-registered usually for one of the following criteria:

  • to include the natural father’s details
  • where the natural parents subsequently marry each other

The birth must be re-registered at the Register Office where the birth was originally registered. If it is inconvenient for you to travel back to the area where the baby was originally registered, a facility exists where you may give details of the re-registration by declaration at any Register Office in England and Wales.

If the father's details were not included in the original registration

If the parents were not married to each other at the time of the birth, and the father did not attend with the mother to register the baby, it is possible to re-register the birth at any time in the future, to include the father’s details in the birth register and to change the surname of the child. Both parents would need to complete a GRO185 form made available from the Registry Office. The easiest way for a birth to be re-registered is for both parents to attend the Registry Office together after making an appointment.

If both parents are unable to attend, it is possible for the absent parent to make a statutory declaration, before a solicitor or other person legally able to witness an oath, acknowledging parentage of the child. It is also possible for either parent to seek a Court Order naming the father. In these cases the documents will have to be submitted to the Registrar General for his authority before the re-registration can take place. For more information on changing the birth records at a later date, please visit the General Register Office website.

Following the re-registration, birth certificates can be purchased from the Registrar.

If the parents have married each other since the birth was registered

In this case, the birth should be re-registered to accurately record the current legal status of the change, regardless of whether or not the natural father’s details were recorded in the original birth registration.

A form LA1 is available from the Registry Office that must be completed and signed by both parents.

Either parent can then attend the Registry Office after making an appointment, with the completed form and a copy of their marriage certificate.

The birth can then be re-registered and the child’s surname can be changed as part of this process. Birth certificates from the new register entry can then be purchased from the Registrar.

Please Note: If your marriage took place outside of England and Wales and/or the father’s domicile is not within the UK, the application for re-registration will have to be submitted to the Registrar General for his consideration and approval.

If the child was given the father's surname at the original registration

If the parents were not married to each other at the time of the birth, and it was decided to give the child the father’s surname, whether or not he attended with the mother, it is not possible to change the surname in the register back to that of the mother.