Register a birth
What is this for?
This webpage is to arrange an appointment to register a birth that occurred in Doncaster.
If any of the following apply please phone our office for additional information on 01302 735222, in all other cases please use the online form at the bottom of this page to arrange an appointment.
- You are a same-sex couple wishing to register the birth
- You sadly need to register a stillborn baby
Coronavirus information
Doncaster Register Office has resumed face to face birth registration appointments, but please be aware that you may have to wait a little while for an appointment whilst there are babies from March still to register.
If for ANY reason you can’t make your appointment, please let us know as soon as possible so we can offer your appointment to someone else.
During the Coronavirus pandemic, please follow the guidance below about coming to the Civic Office to register your baby in order to protect your family, our staff and the community as much as possible:
- It is imperative that you arrive at the right time to your appointment (not early or late) to reduce the number of people in the public area. Please be aware that if you are late, you will need to rebook online from home.
- If you are married, only one parent needs to attend. If you are unmarried, both parents must attend.
- Wherever it is possible, please do not bring your new baby or other children to the appointment – there will be no activities to occupy older children and no changing facilities available at this time.
- Payment for certificates is required prior to your appointment by card over the telephone or via the online appointment booking – please contact us on 01302 735222 if you have not already paid for your certificates no later than the day before your appointment.
- Please bring your own black pen to sign the register; this is to avoid several people using the same pen - we will have pens available if you forget. You do not have to sign with a fountain pen.
What is it going to cost?
There is no charge to register a birth, but full or short birth certificates cost £11 each on the day of registration.
A full birth certificate is required for ID purposes such as passport, national insurance, bank account, school application and other applications. A short birth certificate cannot be used for ID purposes. For more information visit the certificates and costs web page.
What we need from you
We will ask you to sign in to your MyDoncaster account or register for one if you don't already have one. This will allow you to track your enquiry, and for us to tell you the outcome of your request. You will also be able to access additional online services offered by us.
When you register, we will need:
- your baby's date and place of birth. If the birth is one of twins, triplets and so on, then the time of each birth will also be required
- whether the baby is a boy or girl
- the baby's full name
For the father (where these details are to be entered in the register):
- full name
- date and place of birth
- occupation at the time of the child’s birth or, if he was not employed at that time, his last occupation
- ID for baby’s father
For the mother:
- full name and, if applicable, maiden surname
- date and place of birth
- usual address at the date of the child’s birth
- occupation or previous occupation (optional)
- if married to baby’s father at the time of the birth, the date of the marriage
- if married to baby’s father at the time of the birth, the number of her previous children by her present husband or any previous husband
- ID for baby’s mother
It is vitally important that the information recorded in the register should be correct, so it should be checked carefully by parents at the point of registration. Any corrections that have to be made after the registration will cost up to £90.
Both parents need to attend the appointment if the couple are unmarried in order for father to be added to the birth register. If parents are married, only one parent needs to attend with ID for each of you, but you are both more than welcome to attend if you’d prefer.
If you are a same-sex couple, please contact us on 01302 735222 to book your appointment so that we can confirm the information that you need to bring.
Who can register a birth?
If married at the time of the birth, either parent can register. Where parents are not married, a mother can register a birth, but a father’s details may only be entered if:
- both parents attend together to register the birth, or
- the mother attends and produces a statutory declaration of parentage completed by the father, or
- the father attends and produces a statutory declaration of parentage completed by the mother, or
- either parent attends and produces a parental responsibility agreement or an appropriate court order
It is possible for another person to register a birth when neither parent is able. The registrar will arrange for whichever of the following people is best able to do so:
- the occupier of the house or hospital where the child was born
- a person who was present at the birth
- a person who is responsible for the child
More information
Registering a birth conceived through surrogacy
Registration where the father dies before a child is conceived
Where a child is conceived as a result of fertility treatment after the death of the man, the child's father can be registered on production of the following documentary evidence:
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his written consent to the fertility treatment and to being named as the father in the child's birth registration
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written confirmation from the clinic that the man's consent had not been withdrawn
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the woman's written request for the man to be named as the father in the birth registration
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written confirmation of the fertility treatment from a medical source, such as the treatment clinic, mother's doctor or hospital doctor
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the man's original death certificate*
- a marriage certificate where applicable (original, not photocopy)*
*If the death or marriage took place in England or Wales, details of where and when will be sufficient.
Recording the man as a child's father in these circumstances is simply a registration process and does not bestow any legal status or rights in terms of inheritance or nationality.
Parental responsibility
If the parents of a child are married to each other at the time of the birth, they both have parental responsibility, even if they divorce. This is not automatically the case for unmarried parents. By law, a mother always has parental responsibility for her child. A father has this responsibility only if one of the following applies:
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he is married to the mother when the child is born
-
the parents were not married when the child was born but married afterwards
-
he has a parental responsibility order granted by a court;
-
he has signed a formal parental responsibility agreement with the mother; or
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the child's birth was registered after 1 December 2003 and he is named as the father on the birth certificate.
Living with the mother does not give a father parental responsibility. If the parents are not married, parental responsibility does not always pass to the father if the mother dies.