Book now
We are currently experiencing a high demand for appointments. If you are attempting to book an appointment to register a birth or give Notice of Marriage the next available appointments will likely to be around 3 weeks away. Please bear with us.
Following the most recent Government announcement, masks are no longer legally required. We do however strongly advise our customers to wear them while in our buildings.
Social distancing is no longer mandatory but we are continuing to take precautions in our offices where possible to protect both staff and guests. We politely request that children do not attend if at all possible. It is not necessary to bring your newborn baby with you if alternative arrangements are available.
At present we have reduced availability as a result of the safety measures we have had to put in place. This is for the safety of the public and registration staff.
Please note we are only able to offer appointments for babies born in Somerset and North Somerset. Babies born in the Bristol registration district to North Somerset residents can be registered at the Weston and Clevedon offices, due to a reciprocal agreement we have with the Bristol Register Office. If your baby was born elsewhere please contact the Registration Service in the area they were born for more information.
You will need to register your baby before being able to claim Child Benefit. You can find information about Child Benefit on GOV.UK including the Child Benefit claim form Child Benefit Claim Form CH2 For your first child, this must be printed out, filled in, and sent to the Child Benefit office. If you don’t have access to a printer, you can phone 0300 200 3100 and HMRC will send you a form in the post. The form also contains information for the small minority of families who may be eligible for the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC).
If you already have a Child Benefit claim, you can add further children by phoning HMRC on the number above.
Please use our online system to book an appointment wherever possible.
If you are unable to use our online system, please phone us on 01823 282251
Where can you register
You can register a birth at the following Register Offices in Somerset:
Somerset Register Office (Taunton)
Bridgwater Registration Office
Burnham-on-Sea Registration Office
Who can register
If the parents are married to each other at the time of the birth – either parent can complete the registration.
If the parents are not married to each other at the time of birth and the father’s details are to be shown on the child’s birth certificate, both parents should attend at the Register Office together.
If it is really not possible for both parents to attend together, the law allows for one parent to complete the registration by bringing with them a ‘statutory declaration’ which has been signed by the other parent in front of a ‘Notary Public’ (solicitor or magistrate, for example).
If you are thinking of registering a birth in this way, please contact your local Register Office, and we will give you more advice, as well as the correct form to sign.
You can find more information and a form to download on the General Register Office website.
What you need to bring
When you arrive for your appointment the registrar will ask you for the following information:
- The full name and surname the child will be brought up using
- Date and place of birth of the child
- Full name and surname of the parents
- Parents’ place of birth
- Parents’ occupation
You can use the following documents to confirm your details, but these are not essential and you can go ahead without them:
- Passport or birth certificate
- Driving licence
- Marriage or civil partnership certificate
- Any name change documents
After registration
The full certificate is a full copy of the birth entry with parents names, occupation and place of birth as well as the details for the baby.
Certificate are £11 each.
Somerset is a ‘Unified District’, which means that if your baby was born in Somerset you can register at any office in the county.
Please note that if you ask for any correction to the registration after it has been completed you will be charged a non-refundable fee for it to be considered. We cannot guarantee that the correction will be authorised. The fee is £75 payable to the Local Registration Authority.
Under certain circumstances this fee will increase to £90 if the correction needs to be authorised by the General Register Office. So, it is very important that you check the document carefully at your registration appointment.
Babies born outside Somerset
If your baby was born outside Somerset, you can register the birth ‘by declaration’ at any Register Office in England or Wales. This means that the details you give to the Registrar will be sent to the correct district to be registered.
If you decide to register by declaration, you will not receive any birth certificates immediately. They will be forwarded to you once the registration has been completed in the district the child was born in and you have arranged payment directly with the registering district.