Booking a birth appointment

• If natural parents are married/civil partnership to each other, only one parent needs to attend the office (married/civil partnership partner details are automatically included)
• For unmarried/non civil partnership parents, BOTH parents must attend, if you want to include the father’s details on the registration. Otherwise, the mother can attend alone, and no fathers’ details will be recorded
• Please note not all second female parents can be included in the register. Please email us with any queries BEFORE the appointment
• You do not have to bring baby with you. Please do not bring additional siblings or persons with you

If you have been given a red baby book, please bring this with you and your discharge paperwork. Please also bring proof of current and past names, and current address for the mother and father or second female parent. It is advisable to bring:

• Passport
• Birth certificate
• Deed poll
• Driving licence
• Proof of address
• Marriage or civil partnership certificate

Details the registrar will need are:

• Place and date of the birth
• Name, any middle names, surname (family name) and sex of the baby
• Parent/s full names, surnames, previous surnames and address
• Places and dates of parent/s birth
• Date of parent/s marriage or civil partnership (if applicable)
• Parent/s jobs
• Mother's maiden surname and any previous married surnames

Not all of this information may be required, depending on who is registering the birth. Please read the information on corrections to registrations before attending your appointment.

A birth registration appointment lasts about 20 minutes. If more than one baby is being registered, or an interpreter is assisting, it may take up to 40 minutes.

Due to the high demand of our appointments, please be aware that your appointment may have to be rescheduled if you are more than five minutes late.

It does not cost anything to register a baby’s birth.

A full birth certificate is the only certificate issued and contains all the information that appears in the register entry. This is required to obtain a passport or open a bank account for your child.

Certificates can be prepaid online, at the time of booking your appointment, or you can pay for them at the registration in the office, face to face. The certificates are £12.50 each. Payment is by card. We recommend you purchase at least two full certificates at the time of registration.

You can order a certificate any time after the registration.

You can book a birth appointment online but you must tick the interpreter box and bring your interpreter with you to the appointment. Interpreter appointments are longer and by ticking this box on the booking system it automatically books you a longer time slot to ensure your appointment can be kept. The interpreter can be a friend or relative who speaks and understands good English.

Unmarried/non legal civil partnership parents cannot interpret for each other.

We cannot accept Google Translate or similar, or an interpreter over the phone.

If you live in the Channel Islands and have had to come to Southampton to have your baby, you will need to register the birth BEFORE you leave the mainland. Please contact us or ask your midwife to contact our offices. You cannot register your baby back in the Channel Islands. Please email registrars@southampton.gov.uk with your contact information and we will call you to arrange an appointment.

You are not permitted to book an appointment for re-registration on the online booking system. If you have, please cancel this appointment.

Re-registration of baby to add the natural father

As soon as the natural father is on the registration, he gains parental responsibility for the baby/child. Please ensure you have completed the re-registration form to add the natural father (GRO185) and then email us registrars@southampton.gov.uk to enquire about appointments. You will need to bring this completed form signed by both of you and the original birth certificates and both of you attend the appointment we offer.

Re-registration of baby after natural parents have married or formed a legal civil partnership with each other

We are booking these appointments on specified days only. You will both have needed to complete the re-registration form LA1 (after marriage or legal civil partnership) and you will need to email registrars@southampton.gov.uk to enquire about appointments. You will need to bring this completed form, signed by both of you, but only one of you needs to attend the appointment with your UK marriage or legal civil partnership certificate and original birth certificates. Once we book your appointment, if you fail to show, your details will be removed, and you will have to contact us again.

If you were married or formed your legal civil partnership abroad, you will need to provide all paperwork to us so we can scan it off to the General Register Office. We need authorisation from them BEFORE we can complete the re-registration. If the certificate is not in English, you will need to provide an English translation with the original.