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Original poster

Birth reregistration

48 replies

Staceyje · 29/01/2023 11:08

Hello

Looking for some advice/support.
we got married in 2015 and had two children before we married and had one child after marriage.

I’ve been advised that I will need to re-register my two children born before marriage so that they become a child of marriage and all 3 children will then have equal rights of intestacy in the future.

My question is has anyone who had children done this? Would you advise/recommend I do. I have checked the gov website and it appears to be a legal requirement.

its free to do and seems straightforward but my two reservations are:
my eldest is 10 years old and therefore the date of registration on his birth certificate would be 10 years after he was born
it somehow feels like im messing up their birth record with a date some 10 and 8 years after they were born, is this something that they might have an issue or questions about in the future?

Any experiences of people who have re registered their children would be much appreciated 👍🏻

OP posts:
prh47bridge · 29/01/2023 13:39

Whether you re-register your children will have no effect on their rights when you die, nor will it change whether they are regarded as children of the marriage. That is a myth. They are children of the marriage, and they are entitled to inherit regardless of whether you re-register. However, you are correct that re-registering is a legal requirement, although it is widely ignored. The fine for failing to do so is £2.

I have never known anyone pay any attention to the date of registration on a birth certificate. One of my children was re-registered when he was just under 4 years old. No-one has ever questioned this. I don't think he has noticed it either, but he has always known he was born before we were married and that he was a page boy at our wedding.

Original poster
Staceyje · 29/01/2023 17:29

thanks so much for the reply, much appreciated.

i think you’re right, it’s not a law widely known/used. Even in my own friendship circle not many were aware of this requirement.

I think you’re also right about the date of registration. I think im just overthinking it/focussing on the negative. If this is law I’m sure there will be many more re-registrations for this reason (just to people that were of the requirement to do it!)

did you have to give back your original certificate to get a new one and have you had any problems with using the new re-registered copy?

OP posts:
gogohmm · 29/01/2023 17:31

I didn't even know it was a thing until recently, my dd is an adult so we didn't re register

YellowHpok · 29/01/2023 17:34

We did it, was very easy and straightforward. I honestly can't remember about the birth certificate thing but I do remember that it was all OK and not an issue.

Reugny · 29/01/2023 17:35

The main reason to re-register is to change the child's last name.

It is an old law and superceded by other laws over intestacy and parental responsibility.

ArnoldBee · 29/01/2023 17:35

You just get another copy but....keep the first one. When hubby has interviewed staff they have asked for a birth cert issued around birth. I do smile when I see my birth in the 1977 and 1994 indexes. Mine was more complicated in the fact that both my parents were legally married to other people at the time of my birth. My Mum was due to have an operation and in those days it was all over the news that children were being sent to live with maternal relatives if their mother's died. Things have moved on now however just in case you might be in line to inherit a castle....

prh47bridge · 29/01/2023 17:38

Staceyje · 29/01/2023 17:29

thanks so much for the reply, much appreciated.

i think you’re right, it’s not a law widely known/used. Even in my own friendship circle not many were aware of this requirement.

I think you’re also right about the date of registration. I think im just overthinking it/focussing on the negative. If this is law I’m sure there will be many more re-registrations for this reason (just to people that were of the requirement to do it!)

did you have to give back your original certificate to get a new one and have you had any problems with using the new re-registered copy?

Can't remember what happened with the original certificate but we haven't had any problems using the new re-registered copy.

Dacadactyl · 29/01/2023 17:39

DD was born prior to our marriage. We gave her my surname, so reregistered the birth with my husbands surname when she was 3.5. New birth certificate states the date she was reregistered, but no one until recently ever mentioned it.

Now she's 16, they wrote to ask did we want her NI number in her original surname (mine) or her "new" surname (my husbands), but that's the only time it's ever been mentioned.

Original poster
Staceyje · 29/01/2023 17:42

There is no upper time limit apparently, so there is still time to do it, in my situation (10 & 8) would you go ahead and do it?

OP posts:
Dacadactyl · 29/01/2023 17:44

Whose surname do they have?

Original poster
Staceyje · 29/01/2023 17:47

They have my husbands so this wouldn’t change, it’s more that it’s a legal requirement

OP posts:
Needmorelego · 29/01/2023 17:52

My daughter was 4 when we did this.
The original birth certificate gets shredded I think.
Her name didn't change. Mine did and also I changed what was under me for 'occupation' because I didn't feel it was relevant.
Took all of 20 minutes if I remember.

OakleyStreetisnotinChelsea · 29/01/2023 17:57

At the potential of being hauled over hot coals, I'm aware of the requirement but have not done it for mine. No legal implications realistically for the child and I feel it is a horribly outdated concept and effectively a form of lying by changing parental marital status. We were not married when dc was born so why would we want a birth registration document to say we are?

marmaladegranny · 29/01/2023 18:01

Re-registration happens for various reasons. I have two birth certificates dated 18 years apart as my original registration included one middle name and differed from my baptised name (2 middle names) that I always used. This came to light when my first passport application was refused due to the difference in the names. Only way to sort it out was re-registration.

Dacadactyl · 29/01/2023 18:02

OakleyStreetisnotinChelsea · 29/01/2023 17:57

At the potential of being hauled over hot coals, I'm aware of the requirement but have not done it for mine. No legal implications realistically for the child and I feel it is a horribly outdated concept and effectively a form of lying by changing parental marital status. We were not married when dc was born so why would we want a birth registration document to say we are?

How is it lying please?

My DD had my surname when I gave birth to her. Then when we married I was happy to change it, along with my own, to his.

Where is the lie?

OakleyStreetisnotinChelsea · 29/01/2023 18:04

That's a slightly different thing isn't it, we registered our dc with his name so no change needed. Literally the only thing would be the martial status of his parents I think which I don't see as being necessary to change.

AnotherAppleThief · 29/01/2023 18:05

We reregistered two of our children, the only 'issue' we've come across is when using rhe birth cert for identity purposes, in our case a DBS check. The birth certificate had to be issued within 12 months of birth, otherwise it was a 'list B' document. It was fine though, we had a passport for 'list A'.

balloontrip · 29/01/2023 18:05

OakleyStreetisnotinChelsea · 29/01/2023 17:57

At the potential of being hauled over hot coals, I'm aware of the requirement but have not done it for mine. No legal implications realistically for the child and I feel it is a horribly outdated concept and effectively a form of lying by changing parental marital status. We were not married when dc was born so why would we want a birth registration document to say we are?

What is the lie?

Dacadactyl · 29/01/2023 18:08

I think she means the child is "reregistered as a natural child of the parents marriage" so not "illegitimate" anymore but I could be wrong.

Original poster
Staceyje · 29/01/2023 18:58

@Needmorelego thanks so much for this.
do you have to enter the details that were correct at the time or as they stand as they are now as occupation and address have both changed. Ever had any problems with using the reregistered certificate?

OP posts:
mysticbob · 29/01/2023 19:01

Whether or not your parents are married has no effect on your entitlement to their estate if they die intestate. There is no need to re-register for that purpose.

Original poster
Staceyje · 29/01/2023 19:07

Does anyone know if you enter the details that would have been correct at the time of original registeration or as they are when you reregister? Ie occupation and address details

OP posts:
Needmorelego · 29/01/2023 19:14

@Staceyje I think you don't have to put any details about occupation at all on a birth certificate. I might be wrong but I remember for our marriage certificate we were told they never put 'unemployed' if you weren't working - it just got left blank.
So I assume on a birth certificate it can also be left blank.
Our address hadn't changed so I don't know about that.

Dacadactyl · 29/01/2023 19:47

@Staceyje I've dug out my DDs 2 birth certificates.

The address details and occupations have been changed on us re-registering the birth. I don't remember whether this HAD to be done, or whether we were given a choice though. On both certificates, the section "usual address" has the same address I was living at at the time of her birth.

If I were you, I'd Google "registrar's office and your local councils name" and see if you can ring them tomorrow to find out.

Original poster
Staceyje · 29/01/2023 20:21

@Dacadactyl thanks for this and thanks for digging them out! Much appreciated. I’m thinking if it’s a new registration the details supplied should be correct details at the time of registration… I’ll check when i re-register

do you know of many other people that have gone through this process of re-registration. Literally everyone I speak to haven’t heard of it/haven’t done it even though it would apply to them

OP posts: