Birth - registering
Congratulations on the birth of your child. So what do you do next? A new baby can bring enormous joy into your life and quite a bit of stress as everyone gets used to the new arrival. So we've pulled together the answers to some of the questions you might have about one small but important task in the weeks ahead: registering the birth of your new baby.
When should you register your baby's birth?
When your baby is born, you must register their birth with the local registrar where the birth took place within six weeks. It is important that parents do not wait more than a week or two from the date of birth to call us on 020 7926 9420 to book an appointment to register the birth.
What do you need to tell us?
To register the birth, we need to know:
- the date of birth
- where the baby was born
- the baby's full name
- the mother's full name and maiden name, if married
- the mother's job
- the mother's address
- the mother's date and place of birth.
If you want the father's details to be included, we need to know:
- the father's full name
- the father's date and place of birth
- the father's job
- the father's address
- if the parents are married, we need to know the date of the marriage.
What will you get?
You may purchase as many certificates as you like at the time of registration for a fee of £3.50.
The day after registration the price of the certificate will increase to £7.00 until such time as the Register is completed.
Once the Register has been completed and deposited, the cost of any further certificates that you may wish to purchase will be £9.00.
The short birth certificate is suitable for claiming Child Benefit.
The standard full certificate is suitable for applying a passport.
Important: Copies of births certificates are only available from the office where the birth is registered and not where the birth declaration was made.
Who can register the birth?
The baby's mother can register the birth.
The baby's father can register the birth if they're married to the mother when the baby's born. If they're not, they can only register the birth by coming to the Register Office at the same time as the mother.
In exceptional circumstances, someone who isn't the baby's parent can register the birth, but must contact the Register Office before coming along.
If English is not your first language and you would like someone to help you with the registration, please feel fee to ask a relative/friend/interpreter to accompany you to the Register Office. However, please remember that the birth must be registered by a qualified informant. A friend cannot register on your behalf.
Non Married/Civil Partners (Female only)
Only the mother's details will be recorded in the birth entry where the parents were not married or registered a civil partnership at the time of birth. The father or partner must attend the registration if they wish for their details to be recorded in the birth entry.
Civil Partners who are both female are able to register a birth if the conception was assisted through fertility treatment on or after 6 April 2009 and:
- If the partners have been through a legal civil partnership and both consented to treatment either mother or other parent can register the birth.
- If the partners have not gone through a civil partnership registration and have a legal parenthood agreement where the treatment was provided by a UK licensed person the other parent need attend with the mother.
- Statuary declaration acknowledging parentage.
Where can you register the birth?
If your baby was born in Lambeth, you should register the birth with us. But if you can't come to our Register Office, you can give the details to another Register Office.
They will send the information onto us and we will then send you the birth certificate and other documents in the post.
Visit the General Register Office website to search for your local office.
If your baby was born in Lambeth, you should register the birth with us. If you can't come to Lambeth, you may go to any other Register Office in England and Wales to register by making a 'birth declaration'.
The Registrar will record the relevant information and act as an intermediary, passing the details to us by post. The free certificate will be sent to you by post and if you require any additional birth certificates please make a cheque payable to 'London Borough of Lambeth' for the amount of £3.50 (certificate price at the time of registration).
The Lambeth Register Office is the busiest registration service in London and it is not uncommon for parents to take this option.
Tell Us Once
Tell Us Once is a service enabling local authorities to offer a bereavement and birth registration service which puts the customer at the heart of what they do. By notifying the Tell Us Once service only once, customers are saved the time and heartache involved in alerting different departments about a change in circumstances which not only benefits the customer but makes efficiency and cost savings for the local authority too.
The Lambeth Register Office has a specialist team to provide additional help/information to new parents. This includes:
- Child Benefit Application Completion, Verifying Birth Certificate and submission service
- Informing Jobcentre Plus, Housing Benefits and HMRC of the change in circumstance
- Registering new parents with Family Information Service (FIS) and the Library Service.
Do you need an appointment?
Yes. Please call us on 020 7926 9420 to make an appointment.
We offer appointments from Monday to Friday, from 9am to 4pm.
We will aim to see you within ten minutes of your appointment time, if you arrive on time.
Please note that the Register Office is closed on the first Wednesday of every month until 1pm.
Who to contact
Lambeth Register Office
Lambeth Town Hall
London
SW2 1RW
Phone: 020 7926 9420
Email: registeroffice@lambeth.gov.uk