Baby's first passport

[LG123]

Hi! (Sorry for the not aibu, but posting for traffic as in panic mode).

So I've just paid for my baby's first passport fast track 1 week service. This was booked and paid for prior to pregnancy so I've applied as soon as baby was registered.

Our appointment is Friday and we travel on the 20th - I've fallen at the first hurdle. I don't have a copy of my birth certificate, yes I can get one if I pay for the priority service and collect it Wednesday/Thursday rather than rely on the post but my name is totally different as it was changed by deedpoll 14 years ago - I've moved a few time so no idea where my deedpoll is. I've contacted the solicitor's office who did the deed poll and they no longer have a copy of it, file was destroyed after 7 years. Yippee!

What do I do? Go along to the appointment without my certificate, just take my passport, babys birth certificate and hope for the best?

Any reassurance would be greatly appreciated 😅

Give me few minutes, I know someone who will know the answer to this!

I'm assuming you have a UK passport. Then they don't need your birth certificate?

https://www.gov.uk/get-a-child-passport/first-child-passport

Without the deed poll your best option is to write a self certified declaration of your name change and the date you did it along with anything that has your new name on. You will need to get your declaration signed by two contactable witnesses. Anyone can do this if they want to change their name anyway and doesn’t need a deed poll (you can say I want to be known by this name and they will do it)
take your current passport too if it has the new name on. If it’s already in the system they can bring it up as it’s all done electronically now and can be viewed on their screen. Good luck!

Apparently it's because I'm born after 1983.

Didn't think I'd ever need it, these days. It's been so long and given nothing is in my birth name, anything and everything legal is in my legal name, including my current passport.

don't need birth certificate if you have a passport

I'm also very short on time, so but worried about trying to get something legal put in place between my two names. No one I talk to now, other than family knew me as my previous name.

I did my deed poll online for about £5. There is no difference whether it’s a solicitor one or an online just- there shouldn’t be a cost either way. We didn’t have to send deedpol though with my son’s first passport.

i recently got my babies same service. i'm born 1984 no birth certificate needed

I'm praying this is the case but apparently because I'm born after 1983 they want a full birth certificate????

Thank you! Did you go to the appointment with your passport? Hoping for a nice person at the London office!

I remember when I applied for my first adult passport with my deedpoll they sent it back because it wasn't done by a solicitor!

You should only need your passport as that shows you have British citizenship. This is the relevant bit from the passport notes

The information I gave you is from someone who works with the passport office daily.

Call the Passport Office and ask them for advice.

Isn't that about grandparents?

I didd, a young girl answered and said they are told we need birth certificates if we are born here and born after 1983. So I asked what happens if I just turn up with my passport and she just said 'it's up to the examiner'.

Nope. I’m another one post 1983 who applied just with passport.

I was born late 80s. And just used passport. This was about a year ago.

Thank you, appreciate you checking. Just in panic mode with little time. They will have my birth certificate and deedpoll in the system from my own application and my daughters first passport.

So it didn't ask at all for a birth certificate or did you just not send one?

This is what the application screen says.

It didn’t ask. Are you British by birth OP?

The baby is British and eligible for a British passport if one parent can prove they are British and were at the time of the birth, e.g. by giving details of their own passport...if this is your situation, I think you might be looking at the wrong page on the gov website

I got my baby’s passport in December…used the regular service and it was turned around within about 3 days of them receiving his birth certificate! Didn’t need mine as I have a UK passport born after 83 also.

We just needed our British passport numbers, both born after 1983 and both gained British citizenship as adults.