Register a birth

Choosing your child's surname

Your child can take the surname of either parent, or both. Even if you are not married and the father doesn't attend the birth registration, you can still give your child the father's surname.

Changing your child's surname

Once your child's name and surname have been registered, it can only be changed in the following circumstances:

• You apply to re-register the birth to have the father's details included, if they were not included in the first entry.
• You get married after registering the birth. In this case, you should re-register the birth, even if you gave your child their father's surname at the original registration.

To re-register a birth, you will need to contact the register office where the birth was originally registered.