Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages (Scotland) Act 1965

14 Duty to give information of particulars of birth

(1) Subject to the subsequent provisions of this Part of this Act, in the case of every birth it shall be the duty of—

(a) the father or mother of the child, or

(b) in the case of the death or inability of the father and mother, each other person who under the next following subsection is qualified to give information concerning the birth,

within twenty-one days from the date of the birth, to attend personally at the registration office and give to the registrar information of the particulars required to be registered concerning the birth and sign the register in the presence of the registrar:

Provided that the giving of that information and the signing of the register by the father or the mother or by any one of those persons shall constitute a discharge of any duty imposed by this subsection on any other person.

(2) The following persons, in addition to the father and mother, shall be qualified to give information concerning the birth of a child, that is to say—

(a) any relative of either parent of the child, being a relative who has knowledge of the birth;

(b) the occupier of the premises in which the child was, to the knowledge of that occupier, born;

(c) any person present at the birth;

(d) any person having charge of the child.

(3) Nothing in this or the last foregoing section shall authorise the registration of the particulars of any birth in two or more registers, or more than once in any one register.

(4) If it appears to the Registrar General that the particulars of the birth of any child have been registered in two or more registers, or more than once in any one register, he may give directions for the cancellation of all those registrations except such one of them as may be specified in the directions.