birth certificates

[tamirra]

My daughter stupidly put her baby daughters name in her partners surname knowing full well that they would never be staying together, is it possible for her to change the surname to her surname instead of his, ive been told its not possible as the name of the certificate has to remain the same thoughout her life now. Any help greatly appreciated. Thank you

[chiara79]

I'm sure it is possible. A woman that I work with had a nasty split form her husband and all 3 of her children changed thier surnames to her maiden name. Phone your local registrar they should be able to help. Good luck!!

[dot.hawkes]

I know you have the opinion that she 'stupidly' put her partners name on the birth certificate, but infact she would not have been legally able to do this, her partner must have attended the register office himself to have his name added to the registration. Your grandchild will always know who her natural father is, and she will not have to take her birth certificate to the vicar when she wants to get married and show that she did not have a father included. Her birth registration name is taken as the one of the father, however, you can legally use any surname on your birth certificate, even though she is registered as his surname, she can use her mothers surname if she chooses, or if her mother chooses

[dot.hawkes]

you cannot change the legal registration, you simply choose to use the mothers surname

[lou 26]

no i dont think it is possible to change the birth certificate now, you would have to change it by deed poll

http://www.ukdps.co.uk/CanIChangeMyChildrensNa mes.html#Section6

[Ice.Maiden]

Dot's right. Once a name's on a birth certificate it can't be changed. You can change a sur name by deed poll, but even then, when applying for documents such as a passport, a copy of the birth certificate AND the deed poll certificate has to be produced. The new name outweighs the old, and therefore it can be legally used on important documents, but the birth certificate always remains the same.

[meglet]

Tamirra if I were you I would give the registrar's office a call and ask. Reason I say this is because a friend of mine changed her baby daughter's name. It was her first name admittedly but she told me that you can change a child's name AND get a new birth certificate up to a certain age (12 months I believe).

[Chellebelle3]

i have gone about looking into how to change my eldest sons surname as he is the only one in the family that has his dads name, and in fact it can be done. You will have to go to a solicitor and i think it costs no more than �150, but they will ask the dad if he is contactable if it is ok for the surname to be changed but yes it can be done all legally and above board without it being done by deedpoll

[aka pixi]

I dont think you can change the birth certificate but its easy to change the little uns surname. I had my sons surname changed about 7 years ago, it cost �23.00 in solicitors fees. I didnt have to have the fathers permission but we werent married don't know if it is the same rule if you are married.

[andrea81]

I'm sure I already answered this, but my answer isn't here!

Is there another thread?

[lou 26]

yes its in parenting!

[meglet]

Please see the detail below from the UK Deed Poll Service website that I mentioned previously -

If changing a child's forename(s) within 12 months of registration:
If you only wish to change the forename(s) of a child for which you have parental responsibility, you can have the child's birth certificate amended to include the child's new forename(s) providing the change occurs within 12 months of the original registration. The new full birth certificate will show both the original and the new forename(s) but the short birth certificate will only show the new forename(s).If changing a child's surname from the mother's surname to the father's surname (parents not married):

If the parents of the child were not married to each other at the time of the birth and the father did not attend with the mother to register the child, it is possible to re-register the birth at any time in the future to include the father's details and change the surname of the child to that of the father (only if both parents agree, otherwise a court order is required). Upon re-registration, a new birth certificate will be issued.

If changing a child's surname from the mother's surname to the father's surname (parents married since birth):
If the parents have married each other since the birth was registered, the birth can be re-registered to show the father's details. The birth will then be re-registered and the child and mother's surname can be changed to that of the father as part of this process. Upon re-registration, a new birth certificate will be issued.

[meglet]

continued...

Please note, if the parents were not married to each other at the time of the birth and the child was registered with the father's surname, it is not possible to change the child's surname back to the mother's on the birth certificate. To change the child's surname back to the mother's, a Deed Poll should be executed, for which the father's permission is not required. However, a Deed Poll will not get the child's birth certificate changed.

For further information e-mail the General Registrar Office for England and Wales, or call them on 0151-471 4806. Alternatively, telephone or visit your local register office.