How to change your child’s birth records
You can only change your child’s registration to:
- change their name within 1 year of their birth
- update the records after the marriage or civil partnership of the parents
- add a father or second parent
Each of the registered parents must agree to the change and come to the appointment.
Re-registrations cost £93.83 and include a replacement birth certificate. It’s free if you add a same sex female second parent for a child born before 24 November 2025.
Parents must book an appointment at the Office of the Superintendent Registrar.
Appointments last about 30 minutes and can be booked Monday to Friday between 9am and 12pm. We’re closed on bank holidays.
You’ll need to bring the application form, your child’s current birth certificate and documents to confirm your identity. Each parent must come to the appointment and sign a declaration to confirm:
- their legal parenthood
- that the information provided is true
To book your appointment call us on +44 (0) 1534 441335 or email sir@gov.je.
You’ll receive an email confirming your appointment date and time.
Documents to bring with you
At the appointment you must bring:
- the completed application form to re-register a birth
- all copies of your child’s current birth certificate
- all the identity documents listed below. These are required by law. If you don’t bring them, your appointment will be rescheduled
This applies to any type of re-registrations.
Application form to re-register a birth
To get any of our re-registration forms contact the Office of the Superintendent Registrar.
Current birth certificate
Bring all copies of your child’s current birth certificate, including original copies.
Identity documents
Each parent to be registered must bring all of the following documents:
- original birth or adoption certificate
- passport
- if applicable, registered (enrolled) Deed Poll
- if applicable, original marriage or civil partnership certificate between the mother and the father or second parent
Your documents must:
- be originals. We cannot accept photocopies, digital or laminated copies
- be in English or French. Otherwise, you must include a certified official translation attached to a copy of the original
- for Deed Polls, registered (enrolled) with a court. We cannot accept unregistered (unenrolled) Deed Polls or statutory declarations
Types of re-registration
Changing your child’s name
You can apply to change your child’s name within 1 year of the birth.
You can:
- add a forename or surname
- remove a forename or surname
- change the spelling of a forename
- add or remove accents or hyphens
After 1 year, the name cannot be changed unless you:
- update the registration after the marriage or civil partnership of the parents
- add the details of a father or second parent
If it’s more than 1 year, you can only change their name by registered (enrolled) Deed Poll. For more details contact the Judicial Greffe on courts.je.
Updating records after a marriage or civil partnership
If parents were not married or in a civil partnership when they registered their child, and later marry or form a civil partnership, they must re-register the birth to update the details.
Re-registering your child’s birth means that:
- details of the parents’ marriage or civil partnership are added to their registration
- if the child was born before 2 December 2016 and no Parental Responsibility Agreement was in place, the father will be recognised as having parental responsibility
- if a parent changed their name after marriage, their new name can be registered
You can also change any part of the child’s name.
Adding details of the father or second parent
You can apply to re-register if no father or second parent is currently registered on your child’s birth registration and you both now want to add these details.
Each parent must agree to share parental responsibility and the father or second parent will hold legal parenthood status.
You can also change any part of the child’s name.
Same sex female parents with a child born before 24 November 2025
From 24 November 2025, same sex female parents can re-register their child’s birth to add a second parent.
Re-registration is free and a new birth certificate will be issued to your child which includes both parents. You can also change any part of the child’s name.
To re-register your child:
- the mother and second parent must have consented to and conceived via fertility treatment at a registered clinic in Jersey or the UK and that consent was not withdrawn
- you’ll have to declare if you were married or in a civil partnership at the time of the birth
The mother and second parent will share parental responsibility and they’ll both hold legal parenthood status.
We’ll ask you if you were married or in a civil partnership at the time of your child's birth. This is to know which form you need to complete.
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