Corrections to birth and death registrations

Following changes to registration regulations by the Registrar General, there are now statutory fees payable for corrections to birth and death registrations. The fee is between £75 and £90 for any correction depending on the nature of the amendment.

The fee is for consideration of the correction, is payable at the time the correction is requested and will not be refunded if the amendment is not approved.

The fee does not include the cost for a certificate after the correction has been completed.

Corrections can be made

Corrections to a registration can only be made when the information is wrong (eg a mistake was made when recording a parent’s occupation in a birth registration).

You are not able to apply for a correction to show new information if circumstances change after you have registered your child’s birth (eg you change your name after getting married again).

However, you can apply to re-register the birth if the natural parents of a child get married at a later date. 

Apply for a correction

You can apply for a correction to the register office where the birth or death was registered.

What the correction looks like

If your application is approved, a correction is made in the relevant register in the office for the area where your child was born, or the death occurred. The original information will always be shown in the register.  

After the correction has been authorised, an official note will be added to the margin of the register.

This will explain what the correct information is and when the correction was made. All full certificates issued after the correction has been made will include this note in the margin.

A short birth certificate, which only includes the child’s details, will not have a note in the margin. It will include new details.  A short birth certificate is not usually accepted for official purposes, eg applying for a passport.

Further information

For more information about corrections, including details of who can apply and how long the process takes, see correct a birth registration and correct a death registration. 

Contact the Register Office

Page last reviewed: 16 March 2022