Register a birth

How to register a birth (opens new window)

Book a birth registration appointment

Every birth in England and Wales must be registered within the district in which the birth took place within 42 days (6 weeks) of the child being born.

Birth registration appointments are offered at our Chippenham, Devizes, Salisbury and Trowbridge offices. You must book your appointment by telephoning 0300 003 4569. The customer services officer will book you an appointment slot and you will need to arrive for your appointment ten minutes before it is due to start.

If your baby is born outside of Wiltshire Registration district please contact the Register Office in the district where the baby was born.

Who can register the birth

• Mother and father or second female parent who are married or in a civil partnership with each other when the baby is born.
• Mother and father who are not married or in a civil partnership with each other when baby is born - the mother can register the birth alone, but the details of the father can only be added to the register if you both attend the registration together or if the mother or father makes a statutory declaration. The other alternative is for the father's details to be added by re-registering the child at a later date.
• Female couples not married or in a civil partnership at the time of conception, but conceive together through a licensed clinic in the UK.
• Same-sex couples can now become equal legal parents of children they conceive together or through a surrogate, as long as they have entered into a parenthood agreement.

Re-registering a birth

The re-registering of a child's birth occurs for the following reasons:

• If the natural parents marry or form a civil partnership after the birth of their child they are required under the Legitimacy Act 1976 to apply for the re-registration of their child's birth. Form LA1 (opens new window) must be completed and signed by the both the natural parents, but it is only necessary for one of the parents to attend the registration office with their marriage or civil partnership certificate.

• A birth may be re-registered to include the details of the natural father where the parents were not married at the time of the birth, have not married or formed a civil partnership since and no father's name was recorded at the time of the birth, or at the time of the original registration. Form GRO185 (opens new window) must be completed. Both parents must attend to re-register.

Baby born outside Wiltshire

In England or Wales

If the baby was born in England or Wales, but outside Wiltshire and you can't get to the nearest registration office to register the birth, you can usually book an appointment at one of our register offices. Swindon is a separate registration district to Wiltshire, see Swindon Borough Council: Register a birth (opens new window).

We'll take all the details of the birth and pass them onto the relevant registration district. This is called making a declaration.

Call 0300 003 4569 to arrange a declaration appointment.

Outside England or Wales

If the baby was born:

• in Scotland, see mygov.scot: Register a birth (opens new window)
• in Northern Ireland, see nidirect government services: Registering and naming your baby (opens new window)
• abroad, see GOV.UK: Register a birth abroad (opens new window)

What it will cost

We provide the above services free of charge. There is a Registrations and ceremonies service fees for each certificate issued.

You need to be aware that charges apply if any details need to be corrected after the birth has been registered. It is important that you check the details carefully before signing the registration.

Registering a stillbirth

If you need to register a stillbirth please see our dedicated Register a stillbirth page.