Birth - registering

When your baby is born, you must register their birth with the local registrar where the birth took place within six weeks.

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.

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?

We will give you, free of charge, a short birth certificate, which will show your baby's full name, date of birth, sex and area of birth.

For a small charge, you can get more copies of the short certificate or a copy of the full certificate (with all the details you gave us).

We will also give you a form so you can register the birth with a doctor.

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.

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.

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