How do I correct a mistake in my child's name?
If you made a mistake in the original birth registration it will be necessary for the person who registered the birth to prove that an error exists.
Contact Details:
Telephone: 023 8063 1422
Email: registrars@southampton.gov.uk
Details of service:
If you made a mistake in the original birth registration it will be necessary for the person who registered the birth to prove that an error exists. A registration is an historic record that records the details as they were intended to be on the day that the registration was completed.
The information you will need to provide will depend on how soon after the birth was registered you realise a mistake has been made. If you realise you made an error within a couple of weeks of registration you should write a letter setting out what the error is and how it came to be made. This letter should be sent to the Register Office who will send it on to the General Register Office in Southport who has to authorise all corrections to names. If there has been a longer time gap between registration and realising that an error exists, in addition to writing the letter setting out how the error came to be made, you will need to provide documentary proof, dated from the earliest infancy of the child, that you are bringing up the child in a name different to that recorded in the registration. This evidence could be in the form of a Clinic Card, NHS medical card or bank book. The letter along with the documentary evidence will then be submitted to the General Register Office for consideration.
Last updated: 13 July 2007
