Register a birth

Please be aware, we are currently experiencing intermittent problems with the national registration system.

On occasions, this is having an impact on our appointment times and our ability to print documents. As a result, you may wait longer to be seen, your appointment may take longer than usual, and we may need to send your certificates to you by post. We are very sorry for the inconvenience it may cause you. Please bear with us. We are doing everything we can to try to minimise the impact on you, our customers.

Register a birth

You must register your baby before you can get a birth certificate.

Every birth must be registered within 42 days of the child being born.

Register a birth in Westminster

It's best to register the birth at the register office in the district where the baby was born.

If your baby was born in a Westminster hospital or elsewhere in the City of Westminster (e.g. at home) then you can register your baby at our Register Office.

Hospitals within the City of Westminster

• St Mary’s Hospital
• The Portland Hospital

Local hospitals that are not within the City of Westminster

• University College Hospital - please contact Camden Council
• Chelsea and Westminster Hospital - please contact the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
• St Thomas’ Hospital - please contact Lambeth Council

Cost

There is no fee to register a birth.

Birth certificates

Full certificates contain the baby's details and the parents' details. Birth certificates cost £11 each. These can be purchased online during the booking process, and you can collect them at the end of the appointment. 

When making a birth registration appointment we recommend pre-ordering 3 to 5 birth certificates.

If the parents are foreign nationals, birth certificates are often required for:

• consulates to register the birth and apply for passports
• government registration of birth in home countries, if applicable
• 1 or 2 to send home to grandparents for safekeeping

We would also advise you to contact your consulate prior to registering the birth to confirm if they keep the original birth certificate or will accept a photocopy.

If the parents are UK nationals, birth certificates are often required for:

• passport applications
• registration at a medical practice
• benefit applications
• school registration
• where parents traveling abroad are required to show parentage if child and parent have different family name or surname
• 1 or 2 for grandparents for safekeeping

Make an appointment

Book an appointment online

 

More information

Read the GOV.UK complete guide to registering a birth to find out:

• who can register a birth
• where to register a birth
• what you’ll need to take to your appointment​

To find out how we use the information we collect about you, and your rights in relation to that information, please see our privacy notice.