Register a birth

When and where should your baby's birth be registered?

You have until your baby is 21 days old to register the birth.  If you are resident in Perth and Kinross please contact us to make an appointment.  Alternatively you can email your name, contact telephone number and your baby's date of birth to perth-registrars@pkc.gov.uk and one of our team will get back in touch with you as soon as we can.  You no longer need to attend one of our offices the registration will be conducted by telephone.  

Please note if your baby was born outwith Scotland the registration cannot be done in Scotland, you must contact the authorities for the district where the birth occurred. 

Who should register the birth?

If parents are married to each other:

• Either the father or mother can register the birth.

If parents are not married to each other:

• The mother should register the birth herself, or
• If the father's name is to be entered in the register, both the father and mother must talk to us in the same telephone call.  (Should there be circumstances where both parents cannot register together, please contact the Registrar for advice).

A woman who is not married to, or in a civil partnership with the mother can only register the birth and be named in the register as parent if the provisions of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 apply to them and:

• She is able to speak to a Registrar in the same telephone call as the birth mother;
• She and the mother sign declarations that she is the parent (contact your local registration office for the forms); or
• A court declares that she is the parent and the mother registers the birth.

Information on who has parental responsibilities and rights for a child is available in the Scottish Government publication Family matters: family law and young people in Scotland, on the Scottish Government website.

Only in exceptional circumstances is it possible for another relative to register the birth. You should contact the Registrar in advance for advice.

Documents to be produced when registering the birth

• The birth card issued by the hospital, giving the child's date and time of birth;
• The parents' marriage certificate (if married to each other)

Documents issued by the registrar at the time of registration

• An Abbreviated Birth Certificate is issued free of charge at the time of registration, which shows your child's name, date and place of birth.
• Form EC58, containing your child's National Health Service Number, which should be submitted to your family doctor.
• A full Birth Certificate, containing details of parentage, can be purchased for a statutory fee; £10.00 at time of registration or within one month, £15.00 after this (unless an Abbreviated or full certificate is produced at time of purchase). Please be advised - in order to obtain a passport, a full Birth Certificate is required.

Legal and Privacy Notices

For information on how we will process your registration information, please read the following Remote registration of Births and Deaths (Word doc) [21KB]  For information on how we deal with your information, please read the following  Privacy Notice (PDF) [437KB] , produced by the National Records of Scotland.  It is also an offence to provide false information, please read the following  Penalty Notice (PDF) [116KB] .

Financial assistance

You may be entitled to financial help towards the cost of having a baby or bringing up a child.

Perth & Kinross Council has a dedicated Contact the Welfare Rights Team that provides a universal, free, confidential and impartial welfare rights advice and representation service to the residents of Perth & Kinross. The Team has online information which includes Benefits for parents, children and young people.