Registering the Birth of Your Baby

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You will need to register the birth of your child no later than three months after his/her birth. Registration is a legal requirement in Ireland, but you will also need a birth certificate to enrol your child in school, to apply for a passport and for many other purposes. (For child benefit, you will be contacted automatically as soon as you register the birth.)

The birth certificate will contain the information on the child and the parents that is given at the time of registration, so it is important that the information given is accurate. It is difficult to change the details after the initial registration. View the most popular boys' and girls' names registered in Ireland recently here.

The Civil Registration Act 2004 changes some of the rules about registering a birth. These changes take effect from 5 December 2005.
Rules

A birth may be registered in the office of any Registrar of Births, Marriages and Deaths, regardless of where it took place. (Births occurring before 5 December 2005 must be registered in the Registration District where they took place.) The staff of the hospital where your child was born, or of your local health centre, will be able to tell you where you can register the birth.

A Birth Notification Form (Form BNF/01) outlines the information to be recorded in the Register of Births and should be completed by one or both of the parents to guarantee that correct and accurate information is registered. This form is given to mothers in hospital and should be completed and returned to hospital staff before the mother is discharged.

The registration of the birth is carried out based on information provided by a qualified informant who is required to attend at the Office of the Registrar to sign the Register of Births. The mother and father of the child are the main qualified informants and, where possible, are encouraged to attend personally for the registration of the birth. Where the parents do not do this, or it is not possible for them to do it, the following individuals can also act as qualified informants:

* a designated member of the staff of the hospital (or other institution, organisation or enterprise) where the birth took place
* any person present at the birth
* any person present in the dwelling where the birth occurred
* any person who has charge of the child
* a person appointed guardian of the child
* a person found to be the parent of the child by order of the courts.

There are different options for registration, including the father's details, where the mother and father are not married. (The forms used are being replaced by new forms but are still in use.) The options are as follows:

* Both the mother and father can attend the Registrar's Office together, to sign the register jointly.
* The mother can complete a declaration form naming the father (S.C.1) (pdf) and bring it, along with a declaration by the baby's father acknowledging that he is the father of the child (S.C.3) (pdf). The mother signs the register.
* The father may complete a declaration form acknowledging that he is the father of the child. (S.C.2) (pdf), and may go to the Registrar's Office himself, bringing with him a declaration by the mother naming the father (S.C.4) (pdf).
* The mother or father may make a written request (Form S.C. 5 (pdf) and Form S.C. 6 (pdf) respectively) on production of a certified copy of a court order which names the person to be registered as the father. The parent making the request will be required to attend at the Office of the Registrar to sign the Register of Births.
* If you marry after the birth of your child, and if the father's name has not already been entered in the Register of Births, you may re-register the birth. Under the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2002, it is now possible to change the surname of the child where a couple are re-registering a birth in order to add the father's details, if the registration took place between October 1997 and the commencement of the legislation in October 2002. However, it is not possible to change the surname of the child in the Register of Births if the father's details were recorded in the original registration. The child's surname can only be changed at the joint request of both parents.

It is also possible to enter the father's details if the mother is married to someone else.

For births on or after 5 December 2005, parents who marry each other after the birth may re-register the birth to reflect their marital status, and may change the child's surname.

The following information is recorded in the Register of Births:

* Surname. Since October 1997, a surname for the baby is registered when the birth is being registered. The surname registered must be the surname of the father or mother or both. If you want your child to have a surname other than the surname of the father or mother or both, then an application must be made to the Registrar General or a Superintendent Registrar in writing.
* Time, date and place of birth of the child
* Gender of the child
* Personal Public Service number (PPSN) of the child
* Forename(s) and surname of the child
* Forename(s) and surname of the mother
* Birth surname of the mother
* All previously used surnames of the mother (if any)
* The mother's normal occupation
* The mother's normal address at the date of birth
* The mother's date of birth
* The mother's marital status
* The mother's Personal Public Service number (PPSN)
* Birth surname of the mother's mother
* Similar information is entered for the father.

If you have adopted a baby, whether from Ireland or overseas, registration will be processed by the Adoption Board. For further information, please see Adopting a Child and Inter-country Adoptions.
Rates

There is no fee charged for the registration of a birth, or for re-registration to include a parent's details. There is a fee of 5 euro for insertion or alteration of a forename. Fees are charged for Birth Certificates.

A birth certificate is issued for social welfare purposes at a reduced cost, otherwise the fees are:

* 10 euro for a full standard certificate (8 euro per extra copy)
* 1 euro for a full, short copy (e.g. for social welfare purposes)
* 6 euro for an uncertified copy of an entry in the Register (4 euro per extra copy)
* 20 euro for a full, authenticated copy of a birth certificate

How to apply

To obtain a birth certificate, you can go directly to the Registrar's Office. Alternatively, you can apply by post, stating the child's full names, date and place of birth, and enclosing a cheque or postal order for the relevant fees in euro. Download an application form for a Birth Certificate (pdf) here. This application form is also available from the General Register Office.

Where to apply

The appropriate Registrar of Births is determined by where a birth takes place, but from 5 December 2005 a birth may be registered in the office of any Registrar of Births, Marriages and Deaths.View contact information for registrars here..

Further information is available from:
General Register Office,
Government Offices,
Convent Road,
Roscommon.
Tel: (090) 663 2900, or LoCall 1890 252 076
Fax: (090) 663 2999

Article from oasis.gov.ie
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