How To: Replacement Birth Certificates

Birth certificates are one of the most important personal documents a person can hold. Every UK born person is given a copy of their short form birth certificate when their birth is registered.  But what happens if you lose it?

Replacement birth certificates are relatively easy to get back if your’s or your child’s is lost or damaged.  You can also obtain extra copies if you prefer to have one for your records, and one to use as identification.

Why you need a birth certificate

Birth certificates are a very useful document at key points in your child’s life, so its worth keeping it safe.  For example, if you are planning to travel abroad, you will need to apply for a passport.  But in order to get your child’s first passport, you must prove their eligibility for UK citizenship.

This is easily done by sending a copy of their birth certificate with the passport application documents.  Either their birth in the UK or having UK born parents listed will guarantee them citizenship.  You will also, importantly, need your child’s birth certificate to prove their identity as a UK citizen when registering them or school.

How do you get a replacement birth certificate?

There are two ways to get a replacement birth certificate and the method you choose will depend on how soon you need it, they are by independent agency or through the government.

A private agency such as Simply Certificate get replacement birth certificates to you within 24 hours to a couple of days, depending on your needs. By using their access to specialist archive records, they can use the information you provide to find your birth certificate and get a copy made fast.

Alternatively, you can order a copy of a birth certificate through the government. This will often take a little longer, with a week being the minimum. This is largely because the government will be looking through hundreds of records for many people at once.

What do you need to order a copy?

Whether you use an independent agency or the government channels, you will need to supply a few key pieces of personal information.

You will need to provide details such as:

● Full Name
● Date of Birth
● Place of Birth
● Address

Nothing too personal and all information will be treated as confidential.

You can only order a replacement from the September after a birth is registered

Due to the filing times for the official government offices, you will only be able to apply for a replacement birth certificate from the September after the birth has been registered.

Disclosure: This is a contributed post.