Register a birth

What is this for?

A new arrivals birth should be registered within 42 days - Doncaster Registration Service provides a service to register baby's born in the district of Doncaster.

                      ***Please make a note of the appointment slot that you select, as you will not receive email confirmation of this***

                   ***** This webpage is to arrange an appointment to register a birth that occurred in the district of Doncaster only (not Bassetlaw) *****

Births are registered in the registration district that they occurred, not the district where the family reside.

If you make an appointment using this webpage for a birth that occurred in a neighbouring district (eg Bassetlaw, Rotherham, Barnsley, Sheffield), you will be contacted to cancel the appointment and you will need to rebook in the correct district. Any fees that you have paid for birth certificates when booking online for a baby born outside the Doncaster district will take up to 14 days to refund.

If either of the following apply please phone our office for additional information on 01302 735222, in all other cases please use the online form at the bottom of this page to arrange an appointment.

  • You are a same-sex couple wishing to register the birth. We will need to check some details with you please so that your appointment goes smoothly, so when you call, please press any option.
  • You sadly need to register a stillborn baby We would prefer to speak to you please to arrange your appointment so that we can ensure your appointment is held privately and sensitively.

What is it going to cost?

There is no charge to register a birth, but full birth certificates cost £12.50 each on the day of registration. Payment is by card only.

A full birth certificate is required for ID purposes such as passport, national insurance, bank account, school application and other applications. Short birth certificate are no longer issued.

What we need from you

We will ask you to sign in to your MyDoncaster account or register for one if you don't already have one. This will allow you to track your enquiry, and for us to tell you the outcome of your request. You will also be able to access additional online services offered by us.

When you register, we will need:

  • your baby's date and place of birth. If the birth is one of twins, triplets and so on, then the time of each birth will also be required
  • whether the baby is a boy or girl
  • the baby's full name

For the father (where these details are to be entered in the register):

  • full name
  • date and place of birth
  • occupation at the time of the child’s birth or, if he was not employed at that time, his last occupation
  • ID for baby’s father

For the mother:

  • full name and, if applicable, maiden surname
  • date and place of birth
  • usual address at the date of the child’s birth
  • occupation or previous occupation (optional)
  • if married to baby’s father at the time of the birth, the date of the marriage
  • if married to baby’s father at the time of the birth, the number of her previous children by her present husband or any previous husband
  • ID for baby’s mother

It is vitally important that the information recorded in the register should be correct, so it should be checked carefully by parents at the point of registration. Any corrections that have to be made after the registration will cost up to £99.

Both parents need to attend the appointment if the couple are unmarried in order for father to be added to the birth register. If parents are married, only one parent needs to attend.

If you are a same-sex couple, please contact us on 01302 735222 to book your appointment so that we can confirm the information that you need to bring.

Who can register a birth?

More information

Registering a birth conceived through surrogacy

The woman who gives birth, including a surrogate mother, will be registered as the child's mother. In the case of a surrogacy arrangement, the couple who arranged for the surrogate mother to carry a child for them may apply to the courts for a parental order that will enable the birth to be re-registered to show them as the parents.

Registration where the father dies before a child is conceived

Where a child is conceived as a result of fertility treatment after the death of the man, the child's father can be registered on production of the following documentary evidence:

  • his written consent to the fertility treatment and to being named as the father in the child's birth registration

  • written confirmation from the clinic that the man's consent had not been withdrawn

  • the woman's written request for the man to be named as the father in the birth registration

  • written confirmation of the fertility treatment from a medical source, such as the treatment clinic, mother's doctor or hospital doctor

  • the man's original death certificate*

  • a marriage certificate where applicable (original, not photocopy)*

*If the death or marriage took place in England or Wales, details of where and when will be sufficient.

Recording the man as a child's father in these circumstances is simply a registration process and does not bestow any legal status or rights in terms of inheritance or nationality.

Parental responsibility

If the parents of a child are married to each other at the time of the birth, they both have parental responsibility, even if they divorce. This is not automatically the case for unmarried parents. By law, a mother always has parental responsibility for her child. A father has this responsibility only if one of the following applies:

  • he is married to the mother when the child is born

  • the parents were not married when the child was born but married afterwards

  • he has a parental responsibility order granted by a court;

  • he has signed a formal parental responsibility agreement with the mother; or

  • the child's birth was registered after 1 December 2003 and he is named as the father on the birth certificate.

Living with the mother does not give a father parental responsibility. If the parents are not married, parental responsibility does not always pass to the father if the mother dies.

When your baby has been registered

After a birth has been registered, you will be given a form to register your baby with your doctor’s surgery. 

Privacy Notice

The Council is committed to meeting its data protection obligation and handling your information securely.  You should make sure you read and understand the Births, Marriages, Deaths and Nationality privacy notice, which sets out what you need to know about how Doncaster Council will use your information in the course of our work as Registrars.

Ready to arrange an appointment to register a birth?

Do it Now
Last updated: 29 May 2024 17:24:52