A birth should be registered within 42 days of the child being born.
You must register your baby before you can get a birth certificate.
It is best to register the birth at the register office in the district where the baby was born.
If your baby was born in the London Borough of Redbridge or Queens Hospital, Romford in the London Borough of Havering, then you can register your baby at Redbridge Register Office, Town Hall, Ilford, IG1 1DD
Registering a Birth in Redbridge
You must make an appointment to register the birth of a baby. Please book an appointment online. Appointments are between 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday.
A birth can be registered by:
Married or civil partner parents –
- either parent if the parents were married or in a civil partnership to each other at the time of the birth or time of conception
- Please note - A ‘civil-partner’ is someone that you have been through a legal ceremony with for the formation of a civil partnership
Parents not married / in a civil partnership to each other at the time of the birth –
- the mother and father/parent attend the registration appointment together and sign the birth register
If one partner is unable to attend with the other partner, particulars may be entered in the register by one of the following options:
- one parent completes a statutory declaration of parentage and the second parent takes this document when they attend to register the birth
- one parent attends with a Court document granting the father/parent Parental Responsibility.
When you visit for your appointment, please:
- Arrive up to 5 minutes before your appointment
- Please try to find childcare for your children/babies before you attend your appointment
- If the parents are married to each other or in a civil partnership only one parent should attend. If the parents are not married or in a civil partnership, you should both attend. An Interpreter/Translator may attend with you
- You will be asked to pay in advance for the birth certificates that you require. They are £11 per certificate and payment is by debit/credit card only. The certificates will be available for you to take at the end of your appointment. If your appointment has to be rearranged the payment will be carried forward.
- We will confirm which documents to bring with you in your booking confirmation email.
Information needed for Registration
To ensure the information recorded in the register is accurate, please bring with you any discharge papers and baby’s red book in addition to:
- one or both parents’ passport, driving licence, birth or marriage certificate
- any name change documents such as deed poll or change of name deed
- proof of address such as driving licence or Council Tax bill
- birth certificate of any previous children
If English is not your first language and help is needed, you should bring an interpreter to the appointment. Errors identified after the registration is complete cannot be easily corrected.
All information you provide to the Registrar's service is done so in the strictest of confidence, you can find full details in the registrar privacy notice.
We reserve the right to cancel your appointment if you arrive more than 5 minutes after the time your appointment is due to commence and you may need to re-book.
If the parents are not married to each other, please complete BOTH parents' names in the Informants box.
Book an appointment
Birth outside of Redbridge
A birth outside of Redbridge and Queens Hospital in Havering will need to be registered at the register office in the district where the birth took place.
Due to the back-log of birth registrations, we are unable to offer the 'birth by declaration' facility.
If your baby was born at Whipps Cross Hospital, please book an appointment with Waltham Forest.
A birth outside of the UK cannot be registered in the UK.
Child benefit
Don't miss out on Child Benefit: Information about Child Benefit can be found on GOV.UK including the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has announced that new parents can now claim Child Benefit online for the first time. Or you can call 0300 200 3100 and HMRC will send you a form in the post. The form also contains information for the small minority of families who may be eligible for the High-Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC). If you already have a Child Benefit claim, you can add further children by calling HMRC on the number above.
Re-registering a birth
Re-registration forms are available from any register office in England or Wales.
To re-register a birth please use:
Once you have filled in the form you should return it to the register office where the child was born. If the child was born in Redbridge, please submit the form to:
Redbridge Registration Service
London Borough Of Redbridge
Redbridge Town Hall
128-142 High Road, Ilford, Essex, IG1 1DD
Once we have received your completed form, we will then contact you with an appointment to re-registration of the birth.
If you are unable to get to the register office in the district where the birth occurred, you can re-register at another register office by declaration and should take the application forms to the register office where you wish to be seen.
Most re-registrations can be authorised in the register office. Some applications have to be referred to the Registrar General for consideration, for example, if a court order is involved or if the marriage took place outside England and Wales.
Certificate cost
All payments can be made by debit or credit card.
- full birth certificate, £11
- short birth certificate, £11
Order a copy certificate
What happens if there is a mistake on a birth certificate?
Each registration is a record of a life event. Correction of an error in a register can only be made in accordance with procedures set out by the General Register Office (GRO). You will have to apply for a correction in writing and support the request with documentary evidence.
What will a correction look like on a certificate?
The original information will still be shown as it was first given, but a marginal note will be added at the bottom of the certificate. This will describe what the correct information should be and the date the correction was made. All certificates issued thereafter will show the note in the margin.
How much does it cost to update or correct my child’s birth certificate?
From 1 November 2017, if the registration was less than twelve months ago you can still change any forenames for your child on the birth certificate.
There will be a charge of £40 for this process and an additional charge for the purchase of any new certificates.
For consideration by Registrar/Superintendent Registrar of a correction will be £75.00
For consideration by the Registrar General of a correction will be £90.00
If the correction is applied there will be an additional fee for a new certificate.
Should you require additional clarification please register.office@redbridge.gov.uk
How long does it take to sort out a correction?
In certain instances, we have the authority to deal with corrections without referral to the General Register Office (GRO). In most cases, however, you will need to submit correction requests to GRO.
Which correction requests can Redbridge deal with without the need to refer to GRO?
Visit the Gov.uk website;
Correct a birth registration: What corrections can be made - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Or email register.office@redbridge.gov.uk to advise you.
Can I change the forenames of my child?
If any of the following have been decided on within 12 months of the registration of the birth, new names may be recorded in the birth entry:
- a new forename
- an additional forename
- a different spelling of the forename
- the reversal of the order of the forenames
- the omission of the forename
- any combination of these
Please contact the Register Office for further details on this procedure.
Can I change the surname of my child?
There are only two occasions when you may be able to update the surname of your child as recorded on the birth certificate:
- when completing a re-registration to add the father/parents name on a birth certificate where originally just the mother was recorded
- when completing a re-registration following marriage between the parents of the child
What happens if the parents change address, occupation or names after the registration?
The registration is a record of events at the time of the birth. Apart from re-registration cases, updated personal circumstances are not recorded on the birth certificate and there is no need to let us know of changes.
Register a birth
