Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953

13 Registration of name of child or of alteration of name. E+W

(1) Where, before the expiration of twelve months from the date of the registration of the birth of any child, the name by which it was registered is altered or, if it was registered without a name, a name is given to the child, the registrar or superintendent registrar having the custody of the register in which the birth was registered, upon delivery to him at any time of a certificate in the prescribed form signed—

(a) if the name was altered or given in baptism, either by the person who performed the rite of baptism or by the person who has the custody of the register, if any, in which the baptism is recorded, or

(b) if a name has not been given to the child in baptism, by the father, mother or guardian of the child or other person procuring the name of the child to be altered or given,

F1 ... shall, without any erasure of the original entry, forthwith enter in the register the name mentioned in the certificate as having been given to the child, F2 ...

[F3 (1ZA) In the case of a child who has a parent by virtue of section 42 or 43 of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008, the reference in subsection (1)(b) to the father of the child is to be read as a reference to the woman who is a parent of the child by virtue of that section.]

[F4 (1A) The registrar or superintendent registrar having custody of the register in question shall also—

(a) state upon the certificate mentioned in subsection (1) of this section the fact that the entry so mentioned has been made;

(b) forthwith send the certificate to the Registrar General; and

(c) either—

(i) send with the certificate a certified copy of the entry of the birth with the name added under this section, or

(ii) provide the Registrar General, within seven days beginning with the day on which the entry under this section is made, with the information contained in that entry in an electronic form approved by the Registrar General.]

[F5 (1B) Where a certificate delivered under subsection (1) is in an approved electronic form, the registrar or superintendent registrar may (subject to the terms of any approval given by the Registrar General under section 39(2)) discharge the duty set out in subsection (1A)(a) by incorporating into the certificate (or a copy of it), or associating to the certificate (or a copy of it), an electronic signature and a statement that the entry mentioned in subsection (1) has been made.]

(2) Where the name of a child is altered or given in baptism, the person who performed the rite of baptism or who has the custody of any register in which the baptism is recorded shall issue the certificate required under this section F6 ....

F7 (3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(4) This section shall not apply in relation to a still–born child.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words repealed by S.I. 1968/1242, Sch. 2

F2 Words in s. 13(1) omitted (13.11.2006) by virtue of The Registration of Births and Deaths (Electronic Communications and Electronic Storage) Order 2006 (S.I. 2006/2809), arts. 1(1), 2(2)

F3 S. 13(1ZA) inserted (6.4.2009 for specified purposes, 1.9.2009 in so far as not already in force) by Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 (c. 22), s. 68(2), Sch. 6 para. 8; S.I. 2009/479, art. 6(1)(e)(2) (with art. 7, Sch.)

F4 S. 13(1A) inserted (13.11.2006) by The Registration of Births and Deaths (Electronic Communications and Electronic Storage) Order 2006 (S.I. 2006/2809), arts. 1(1), 2(3)

F5 S. 13(1B) inserted (1.12.2021) by The Births and Deaths Registration (Electronic Communications and Electronic Storage) Order 2021 (S.I. 2021/1231), arts. 1(2), 3(3)

F6 Words in s. 13(2) omitted (12.7.2016) by virtue of Immigration Act 2016 (c. 19), s. 94(1), Sch. 15 para. 22; S.I. 2016/603, reg. 3(w)

F7 S. 13(3) repealed by Merchant Shipping Act 1970 (c. 36), Sch. 5