Registration of Births

Contact details: registrar@guernseyroyalcourt.gg and +44 (0) 1481 225277

Registration of Births

There is a legal obligation to register all births in Guernsey within 30 days from date of birth.

If your child is born in hospital, you will be given a 'Declaration of Birth' form prior to being discharged. If your child is born at home, forms are available from the Greffe.

Where can you register a birth?

You can register the birth by submitting the completed Declaration of Birth form to the Greffe public counter between 9:00am and 4:00pm Monday to Friday. Alternatively you can submit the Declaration Of Birth by emailed (scanned or attached as a good quality photograph) via email to registrar@guernseyroyalcourt.gg

Who can register a birth?

If you are married; either parent (mother or father) may register a birth by submitting the form to the Greffe, however the father must have signed the Declaration of Birth form.

If you are not married; both parents must attend in person to register the birth if you wish for the father's details to be entered into the register. If the father's details are not entered at the time of registration, this can be done at a later date, but we advise that it is done within 12 months of the birth. You will need to make an appointment to attend the Greffe together to complete additional paperwork.

Parental Responsibility

If you are married at the time of your child's birth, section 6 of the Children (Guernsey and Alderney) Law, 2008 dictates that you both have joint parental responsibility for your child. If you are not married at the time of your child's birth, you will assume joint parental responsibility for your child following completion of the Birth Acknowledgement form and registration of your child's birth; section 7 of the Children (Guernsey and Alderney) Law, 2008 refers.

Obtaining a copy birth certificate

A full birth certificate costs £30.00

You can order a copy birth certificate by phoning the Greffe, on +44 (0) 1481 225277. You can make payment by card over the phone and the certificate can either be posted out to you, or it can be collected from the Greffe. Alternatively, you can request a copy by attending at the Greffe and paying at the counter by card, cash or cheque; certificates are usually available the next working day.

Herm / Sark or Alderney Residents

If you are normally resident in Herm, Sark or Alderney and your child is born in Guernsey you will need to ensure that their birth is registered in Guernsey.

If you have time whilst still in Guernsey, you can attend at the Greffe to register your child's birth, if this isn't possible, you can submit the documentation by post. If you are not married but you want their father's details included at time of registration, a Birth Acknowledgement form will have to be completed and signed by the Registrar in Alderney, or Deputy Registrar in Sark, prior to the form being posted to the Greffe in Guernsey. Should you wish to obtain a birth certificate at the time of registration, payment can be made over the phone or submitted with the documentation in the post.

If your child is born outside of Guernsey

If your child is born outside of Guernsey their birth needs to be registered, in person, at the Registry office in the local jurisdiction where they were born. You must obtain a copy of the birth certificate and attend at Social Security to register your child. There is no requirement to notify the Greffe of your child's birth.

Legitimations

If you and your partner were not married at the time of your child's birth however you have since married, under the Legitimacy (Guernsey) Law, 1966, you can request that an amendment be made to Register of Births, relating to the birth of your child.

To apply, you would need to supply a copy of your marriage certificate, and return the original birth certificate issued on behalf of your child, you would also need to complete an application form, copies of which are available from the Greffe. A fee of £15 is payable in respect of the application and an additional fee of £30.00 is payable for a replacement birth certificate.

Stillbirths

Please see information detailed within the 'Registration of Deaths' section.

How we share your child's information

If your child is born and registered in Guernsey, the following departments will receive confirmation of their birth: Social Security, Housing, Legal Aid and Health and Social Care.