Birth Certificates

If you have begun or thinking of researching your family tree below is the information you will find on the birth certificates.

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On 1st April 1969 the law relating to birth registration was revised resulting in a change to the format of a birth certificate. If you have begun or thinking to research your family tree below is the information you will find on the birth certificates for births registered before 1st April 1969.

Column 1: When and where born

• The time of the birth is entered for multiple births.
• In early registrations, this is likely to be just the town and village,not a full address.

Column 2: Name,if any

The name given to the child at birth, which may not be the name by which they were known throughout their life.

A line is drawn through this column if no name was given at registration. The name may be recorded in column 10 if given after registration, either in baptism or not in baptism.

Column 3: Sex

• Boy or girl

• name and surname of father if recorded

• If married once only, her maiden name is preceded by the word 'formerly'
• If married more than once, the surname the mother had immediately before her last marriage is preceded by the word 'late' and then followed by 'formerly' and her maiden name
• If the mother was using and known by 2 different names at the time of the birth these names would be recorded with the word 'otherwise'

• The current or last known occupation of the father

• Mother
• Father of a child of a marriage. The father of a child whose parents were not married can register the birth, if he attends the registration at the same time as the mother and they both sign the register as joint informants
• The occupier of the house in which the birth occurred
• if the birth occurred in an institution, the governor, keeper, master, matron, or superintendent may register the birth
• a person present at the birth
• a person in charge of the child

• the date of registration may be different from the date of birth and determines in which quarter the entry appears in the GRO Indexes
• the registration of a birth should be within 42 days of the birth and will be recorded by a registrar
• if a registration occurs after 3 months of the birth but within 12 months, the birth will be registered by a registrar in the presence of the superintendent registrar
• if the registration is being made after 12 months, the authority of the Registrar General must be obtained

• any names given up to 12 months after the date of the initial registration, by baptism or on a certificate of naming, are entered in this column
• if no additional names are added, a line is marked through this box by this office to prevent any unauthorised changes