Do you have a new baby born at Southend Hospital or at home in the Southend area?
Our online diary is open for self-service appointments.
When attending your registration appointment please remember:
- bring in letter from hospital or Babies Red Book and form of I.D for each parent
- you do not have to bring your baby(s) but if necessary please make sure children are supervised
- car park is situated in Carnarvon Road SS2 6EN
- masks / face coverings are optional when attending your appointment
- we have sanitizing equipment on site
- payments for certificates is payable by card only
By law you must register the birth of your child within 6 weeks (42 days).
If you buy a full birth certificate you can use this to:
- apply for a passport
- open a bank account
- enrol at school
How to register
You must register a birth in person at the Register Office. You should make an appointment at the Register Office of the district where the baby was born. If your child was born in a hospital, please bring with you the letter from the hospital titled Registering the Birth of your Baby. You will also need to bring with you 1 form of identification for each of the parents such as a passport/driving licence/medical card.
- if the parents are married, only one parent needs to be there to register the birth
- if the parents are unmarried, both will need to attend
- if only the mother attends, the birth can still be registered but the fathers details wont be recorded
At the appointment a Registration Officer will interview you in private, asking for the:
- date and place of birth of the baby
- babys name, surname and sex
- babys parents names, surnames and places of birth
- babys parents occupations
- babys mothers maiden name
- babys parents address
Full certificates from the Registration Officer at the time of registration are £12.50 (a full certificate shows all the details recorded in the register). Please see the fees section for current charges.
If the parents of the child were not married to each other at the time of the birth, but they later marry each other, the birth should be re-registered.