Book an appointment
Your baby’s birth must be registered within 42 days of the date of birth. We are only able to offer appointments for babies born in Somerset and North Somerset.
You can attend any Registration Office in the district where baby was born. You will be able to purchase Full Birth Certificates as required at a cost of £12.50 each.
Please use our online system to book an appointment. If you are unable to use our online system, please phone us on 01823 282251
Who can register
If the parents are married to each other at the time of the birth, either parent can complete the registration.
If the parents are not married to each other at the time of birth and the father’s details are to be shown on the child’s birth certificate, both parents should attend at the Register Office together.
If it is really not possible for both parents to attend together, the law allows for one parent to complete the registration by bringing with them a ‘statutory declaration’. This has to been signed by the other parent in front of a ‘Notary Public’ (solicitor or magistrate, for example). If you are thinking of registering a birth in this way, please contact your local Register Office, and we will give you more advice, as well as the correct form to sign.
You can find more information and a form to download on the General Register Office website.
What you need to bring
When you arrive for your appointment, the registrar will ask you for the following information:
- The full name and surname the child will be brought up using
- Date and place of birth of the child
- Full name and surname of the parents
- Parents’ place of birth
- Parents’ occupation
You can use the following documents to confirm your details, but these are not essential and you can go ahead without them:
- Passport or birth certificate
- Driving licence
- Marriage or civil partnership certificate
- Any name change documents
We request that you also bring the ‘red book’ given to you at the time of the birth.
After registration
The full certificate is a full copy of the birth entry with parents’ names, occupation and place of birth as well as the details for the baby.
All our offices can accept card payments. We advise bringing physical cards rather than relying on contactless phone apps, as there can be occasional issues with that technology.
Corrections
Babies born outside Somerset
If your baby was born outside Somerset, you can register the birth ‘by declaration’ at any Register Office in England or Wales. This means that the details you give to the Registrar will be sent to the correct district to be registered.
Babies born in the Bristol registration district to North Somerset residents can be registered at the Weston and Clevedon offices, due to a reciprocal agreement we have with the Bristol Register Office.
If you decide to register by declaration, you will not receive any birth certificates immediately. They will be forwarded to you once the registration has been completed in the district the child was born in and you have arranged payment directly with the registering district.
Child Benefit
You will need to register your baby before being able to claim Child Benefit. You can find information about Child Benefit on GOV.UK including the Child Benefit Claim Form CH2.
For your first child, this must be printed out, filled in, and sent to the Child Benefit office. If you do not have access to a printer, you can phone 0300 200 3100 and HM Revenue and Customs 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.
If you already have a Child Benefit claim, you can add further children by phoning HM Revenue and Customs on the number above.
Contact the team
You can find contact details and opening times of our Register Office, and all our Registration Offices in Somerset on our Registration Contacts page.
For free and confidential advice and support, contact Family Lives (Parentline Plus) on 0808 800 2222 or email askus@familylives.org.uk.