Correcting a mistake in the naming of your child at the time of registration
If you made a mistake in the original birth registration, the person who registered the birth must show proof of this.
A registration is a historic record that records the details as they were intended to be on the day the registration was completed. What information you will need to provide will depend on how soon after the birth was registered you realise a mistake has been made. If you realise you made an error within a couple of weeks you should write a letter setting out what the error is and how it was made. This letter should be sent to the Register Office which will be passed on to the Registrar General's Office who will authorise all corrections to names.
If there has been a longer gap between registration and noticing an error, as well as writing the letter setting out how the mistake was made, you will need to show proof, dated from the child's earliest days, that you are bringing up the child in a name different to the one on the register. This evidence could be in the form of a Clinic Card, NHS medical card or bank book. The letter, along with the evidence, will then be sent to the Registrar General's office for consideration.
Apply for a birth certificate amendment online
Fees for consideration of a correction
- £83 to your local register office for consideration
- £99 if the documents need to be sent to the Registrar General for consideration
Register office
Telephone: Monday - Friday: 9am - 5pm. Building opening times: 9.00am - 4.30pm Mondays and Wednesdays, 10.00am - 4.30pm Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9.00am - 4.00pm Fridays.
Address: Cheylesmore Manor HouseManor House Drive
Coventry
CV1 2ND
