A to Z of services:  A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z 

Contact your councillor

Registering a birth

Registering your baby’s birth

You must register the birth of your baby, with the local registrar where the birth took place, within six weeks. 

Where to register

If your baby was born in Hammersmith & Fulham, you should register the birth with us at Hammersmith & Fulham Register Office in Fulham Town Hall. If you can’t come to this office, you can give a declaration to another register office in your area. They will send the information on to us and we will then send you the birth certificate and other documents in the post. If English is not your first language, it would be helpful to bring a relative or friend to act as interpreter. However, this person cannot register instead of you.

The Hammersmith & Fulham Register Office, 
Fulham Town Hall
Harwood Road SW6 1ET
Tel: 020 8753 2140. 

You can visit us to register a birth from Monday to Friday, between 9.30am and  4.00pm. No appointment necessary. The office is closed until 1pm on the last Thursday of every month. 

Certificates

We will give you, free of charge, a short birth certificate, which will show your baby’s full name, date of birth, sex and place of birth. You can buy a full certificate showing all details (child, mother and father) for £3.50. We will also give you a form so you can register the birth with a doctor.

» Apply for a birth certificate copy

Who can register the birth

Parents married to each other  If both parents of the child are married to each other at the time of the birth (or conception), either the mother or the father can register. 

Parents not married to each other  If the parents were not married to each other at the time of the child's birth (or conception), the mother can register without giving the father's details. The father's particulars may be entered in the register if the mother and father come together to register. If you cannot come in together, please ring us on 020 8753 2140 for further information. If the father's name is not recorded in the birth register, it may be possible for the birth to be re-registered to include his details at a later date. Please contact us for more details.

What you need to tell us

To register the birth, we need to know:

Child

  • date and place of birth;
  • the time of each child's birth for twins, triplets etc
  • sex of the child 
  • the forename(s) and surname 
  • if the child was born in hospital, please bring the red baby book with the NHS number.                          

Mother

  • your forename(s) and surname 
  • your maiden surname if you are, or have been, married 
  • your date and place of birth 
  • your occupation at the time of the child's birth or, if not employed at that time, your last occupation 
  • your usual address at the date of the birth 
  • your date of marriage, if you were married to the child's father at the time of the birth 
  • the number of previous children by your present husband and by any former husband.                          

Father  (where this information is to be entered in the register)

  • your forename(s) and surname 
  • your date and place of birth 
  • your occupation at the time of the child's birth or, if not employed at that time, the last occupation 
  • uyour usual address at the date of the birth.                          

If the parents are married, we need to know the date of the marriage. 

It is most important that the information recorded in the birth register is correct. The person registering the birth should check the information to be recorded in the register very carefully before the entry is signed.

For information about register offices nationwide please visit www.gro.gov.uk