Changing a Name after Birth

How to change the details on your child's birth certificate.

Changing a first name

You can change your child's first name(s) within 12 months of registering the birth. You can do this on the original birth registration.

If your child has been baptised - within 12 months after registering the birth

Collect a form from the Register Office and ask the Minister of the Church, where your child was baptised, to sign it.

Return the form to the Register Office, we will add the amended names into space 17 of the original birth register. You can then purchase new certificate(s) - the full version will show the old and new names, the short version will only show the amended name(s).

Otherwise

You can complete a form at the Register Office - if the name change occurred within 12 months of registering the birth. You may need to prove the name change - for example by providing an NHS card stating the child's name.

The amended name(s) will be inserted into space 17 of the original birth registration. You can then purchase new certificate(s) - the full version will show the old and new names, the short version will only show the amended name(s).

Changing a surname

If you were not married at the time of birth

If the father did not attend to register the baby it is possible to add the father's details, and change the child's surname, at any time. A form, available from the Register Office, has to be completed by both parents.

The easiest way to do this is for both parents to visit the Register Office together. It is also possible for one parent to make a statutory declaration, before a solicitor or other person able legally 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 any of these cases the birth will be registered again and certified copies of the re-registered birth can be purchased from the registrar.

If you were not married and gave the child the father's surname

In this case, it is not possible to change the surname in the registration back to that of the mother. The only alternative will be to consult a solicitor and make a statutory declaration or deed poll changing the surname of the child. This will not change the original birth registration.

The statutory declaration or deed poll document should be attached to the birth certificate and this will provide evidence that the child is being brought up in a surname different to that recorded in the birth registration.

If you have married since the birth was registered

The birth should be re-registered to accurately record the current legal status of the child. A form, available from the Register Office, must be signed by both parents. Either parent can then attend the Register Office, with the form and a copy of the marriage certificate.

The birth will be re-registered and the child's surname can be changed as part of this process. Certified copies of the re-registered birth can be purchased from the registrar.

Correcting a mistake

If you made a mistake in the original birth registration it will be necessary for the person who registered the birth to prove that an error exists.

A registration is an historic record that records the details as they were intended to be on the day that the registration was completed. What information you will need to provide depends on how soon after the registration you noticed the mistake.

If you spot the mistake within a couple of weeks:

You should write a letter setting out what the error is and how it happened. This letter should be sent to the Register Office who will pass it on to the Registrar General's Office who authorise all corrections to names.

If you spot the mistake after a longer time period:

In addition to writing the letter (as above), you will need to provide a document, dated from the earliest age of the child, which shows you are bringing up the child in a name different to that recorded in the registration.

This evidence could be a Clinic Card, NHS medical card or bank book. The letter and document will then be sent to the Registrar General's office for consideration.

Contact Details

For more information on changing Birth Certificates, please contact the Register Office on

Telephone: 0121 704 8002

or email connectcc@solihull.gov.uk