Re-register a birth

There are two types of birth re-registration:

1. Re-register a birth following the marriage or civil partnership of natural parents

When the natural parents of a child marry or form a civil partnership, there is a legal requirement to re-register the birth. It is a requirement to re-register the birth even if the child’s surname is to remain the same.

Same-sex female couples

Mixed sex couples

Before you can re-register you will need to complete a form LA1 for each child.

Download the LA1 form

Full instructions on how to complete the Form LA1 can be found in Part A of the form.

If your child was born in Norfolk, send or drop your completed form/s into either the Norwich, Great Yarmouth or King’s Lynn Offices with your marriage or civil partnership certificate* and your child's full birth certificate/s*
Once we have your form/s and certificates* we will make sure everything is in order and contact you to arrange a convenient appointment, at any registration office in Norfolk, for one or both of you to attend. Only one parent need attend
If your child was born outside Norfolk you can take or send the forms and certificates to the register office in the district where the child was born or alternatively you can re-register by making a declaration at any register office in England or Wales). Contact us if you need any more information.

*Please note all certificates must be either:

Originals (produced by a local registration service or the General Register Office; OR
'Certified' photocopies of originals (find out about Certifying a document on GOV.UK)

2. Re-register a birth to add natural father’s details.

Before you can re-register you will need to complete a Form 185 for each child. Download the Form 185 from GOV.UK.

Full instructions on how to complete the Form 185 can be found in Part A of the form.

If your child was born in Norfolk, send or drop your completed form/s into either the Norwich, Great Yarmouth or King’s Lynn Offices with your child's full birth certificate/s*
Once we have your form/s and certificate/s* we will make sure everything is in order and contact you to arrange a convenient appointment, at any registration office in Norfolk for you both to attend.
If one parent is unable to attend they can complete a statutory declaration of parentage form available from GOV.UK. This should be provided to us at the same time as the 185-re-registration form/s and birth certificate/s*.
If your child was born outside Norfolk, you can take or send the form/s and certificate/s* to the register office in the district where the child was born. Alternatively, you can re-register by making a declaration at any register office in England or Wales. Contact us if you need any more information.

*Please note all certificates must be either:

Originals (produced by a local registration service or the General Register Office; OR
'Certified' photocopies of originals (find out about Certifying a document on GOV.UK)

Form 185 asks that you send us certified photocopies only, but for your ease we do accept original certificates.

Essential information for both types of re-registration:

If your child is over 16 and you intend to alter their surname, they will need to give their written consent to a change to their surname
Both parents must sign and date the form
There is no charge for the re-registration
New certificates which supersede the original birth certificate will cost £11 on the day of the re-registration
At your re-registration appointment please bring any original birth certificates not already sent to us with your re-registration form/s