Register a birth

At the appointment, the registrar will ask you to confirm:

• when and where your baby was born
• the sex of the baby
• full name of the child and the correct spelling
• full names of the parent/s and the correct spelling
• parents' jobs and addresses
• dates and places of birth of parents
• the date of marriage and the mother’s maiden name, if the parents are married

At the appointment, the registrar will ask you to supply:

• the statutory declaration of parentage form (PDF, 30KB), where required

Your appointment will last approximately 30 minutes. Please allow another 15 minutes for each additional child.

Certificates

There is no fee for registering your baby, but certificates cost £12.50 each. Certificates can be paid for in advance of the appointment by credit or debit card.

When you book your appointment, you can pay for birth certificates in advance. You will need birth certificates when applying for your child's passport and schools.

Once you have registered your baby, any certificates you have paid for will be issued to you.

If you have not paid for any certificates in advance, you can order certificates online from the Essex Records Office website. You will have to pay for postage.