When can a birth certificate be updated

Changing your child's first name(s)

If you decide to change your child's first name(s) within 12 months of the date of the registration of the birth you are able to do so on the original birth registration. There is a statutory fee for this service and you will be required to purchase a new Birth certificate showing the change which has been made.

If your child has already been baptised

If the child has been baptised in the Christian faith within the 12 month period after birth registration, you can obtain a form from the Register Office to take to the Minister of the Church in which the child was baptised.

Once this form has been completed it needs to be returned to:

The amended names can be inserted into space 17 of the original birth register, in the presence of the informant.

This process can be done at any time after the birth as long as the baptism took place within 12 months of the registration. You can then purchase certified copies from this amended registration.

If your child has not been baptised

Parents can complete a 'non baptism' naming form at the Register Office. This process can be done at any time after the birth as long as it can be proved that the change of name took place within 12 months of the birth registration. Once the form has been completed the amended name(s) will be inserted into space 17 of the original birth registration. Certified copies of certificate showing the new name can then be purchased.

The full copy certificate will contain both the original name and the new name, showing whether it was given in baptism or by certificate of naming. The short version certificate will only record the child's amended forename(s).

Changing the Surname of your Child

Parents who are not married to each other at time of birth

If the father did not attend with the mother to register the baby it is possible to re-register the birth at any time in the future to include the father's details in the registration.

It may also be possible to change the surname of the child to that of the father. A form is available from the Register Office that has to be completed by both parents. The easiest way for the birth to be re-registered is for both parents to attend the Register Office together after making an appointment.

It is also possible for either parent to make a statutory declaration, before a solicitor or other person able legally to witness an oath, acknowledging parentage of the child.

Alternatively it is possible for either parent to seek a Court Order naming the father. In any of these cases the birth will be registered again and certified copies of the re-registered birth can be purchased from the registrar.

If the parents were not married to each other at the time of the birth and it was decided to give the child the father's surname, whether or not he attended with the mother, it is not possible to change the surname in the registration back to that of the mother. The only alternative will be to consult a solicitor and make a statutory declaration or deed poll changing the surname of the child. This will not change the original birth registration.

The statutory declaration or deed poll document should be attached to the birth certificate and this will provide evidence that the child is being brought up in a surname different to that recorded in the birth registration.

Parents who have married since the birth of the child

If you have married since the birth was registered, the birth should be re-registered to accurately record the current legal status of the child. To do this you need to:

Obtain a form from Trafford Register Office (this must be signed by both parents)
Either parent must bring the completed form to the Trafford Register Office, with a copy of the marriage certificate. Marriages abroad will need the consent of the Registrar General before a re-registration can take place.

The birth will then be re-registered and the child's surname can be changed as part of this process. Certified copies of the re-registered birth can be purchased from the registrar.