Legal changes to certificates
In Scotland there are only three options available to you. These are as follows :
Change of name
Any person whose birth is registered in Scotland or who was legally adopted in Scotland can apply to have a change of forename(s) or surname(s) recorded.
Any application for a change to be recorded for a child under 16 years of age must be made by a qualified applicant (parent/guardian). There is an application form available from any registration office in Scotland.
After reaching 16 years of age a person can apply for a change of forename(s) or surname(s) to be recorded. He/she must apply on the appropriate application form. This is available from any registration office in Scotland.
Please note that any birth certificate issued after the recording of the change will show the new forename(s) and surname(s). The original forename(s) and surname(s) shown at the bottom of it.
Please bear in mind the following points:-
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Where the parents of a child were married at the time of the birth, or married after the birth, then both parents have parental responsibilities for the child. Both parents should usually sign the application form.
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Where the parents of a child are not married but both parents registered or re-registered the child's birth on or after 4 May 2006, both parents have parental responsibilities for the child. Both parents should usually sign the application form.
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Where the parents are unmarried or only the mother's details appear on the birth entry then a Form PRF should accompany the application form. This is available from any Registration Office.
How and where to apply
You can get an application form from any registration office in Scotland. The completed application form should be sent to General Register Office, Change of Name Unit, New Register House, Edinburgh EH1 3YT. The fees for recording the change and for any full extract or abbreviated extract is listed below. Cheques and postal orders should be crossed and made payable to "The Registrar General". Please do not send cash.
Fees
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The current fee for recording of a change of name is £40.00*
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An extract of the birth entry is £15.00
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An abbreviated extract of the birth entry is £15.00
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2 extracts (full and abbreviated ordered at the same time) is £25.00
*If there are two or more children from the same family applying at the same time the first application will be £40.00 and each application thereafter will be £10.00
Avoiding delay
The most common causes of delay in processing applications are :-
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Insufficient fees.
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The absence of the signatures of both parents. (a) Where the parents of the child were married at the time of the child's conception (b) father shares parental responsibilities.
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The absence of Form PRF (where the parents never married and the mother has sole parental responsibilities)
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The form is not signed and/or dated.
Number of changes which may be recorded
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Only one change of forename(s) and one change of surname(s) may be recorded for a child under 16 years of age.
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If a change of forename(s) in infancy (i.e. a change of forename given within 12 months of date of birth) has already been recorded no further change of forename(s) may be recorded before the child reaches 16 years of age. This does not however prevent the recording of a change of surname.
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For persons 16 years of age and over one change of forename(s) and up to three changes of surname(s) may be recorded. A period of 5 years must elapse between successive change of surname(s).
Re-registration of a birth in Scotland
Re-registration is a procedure which is available to any person(s) whose birth was registered in Scotland and has been affected by one of the following:
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The entry in the register of births is affected by any matter contained in the Register of Corrections Etc, respecting status, parentage or non-parentage.
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The entry in the register of births has been so made as to imply that they were found exposed.
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The entry in the register of births indicates that their parents were not married to each other at the time of birth and they have now subsequently married each other.
Please note that with effect from 4th May 2006 following re-registration an unmarried father who has declared paternity and whose name is included in a birth entry will gain full parental rights and responsibilities.
Who can apply for re-registration?
Those who may apply for re-registration are as follows:-
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If the person whose birth is to be re-registered is under 16 years of age application can be made by any person (whether or not they themselves have attained the age of 16 years) having parental responsibilities in relation to that person (e.g. the mother).
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If the person is 16 years of age or over they must apply on their own behalf.
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In any case by any person who may be prescribed by regulations made under the Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages (Scotland) Act 1965.
How and where to apply?
The application form RR1 is available from any registration office in Scotland. The completed form and the necessary documents can be returned to any registration office in Scotland.
There is no fee for the re-registration procedure.
What happens next?
Registrars can deal with certain applications for re-registration immediately without reference to General Register Office for Scotland. Otherwise they will send the completed RR1 form to The Registrar General, Re-registration Unit for processing. Applicants are notified by the Registrar General when authority has been given for the re-registration. A qualified informant will be instructed to go to the registration office to sign the new birth entry.
Please note that anyone over 16 years of age must apply for the re-registration but they cannot act as informant. In these circumstances the following can act as informant:
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Mother or Father.
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Any relative of the applicant who has knowledge of the birth.
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Any person present at the birth.
After the re-registration is completed a new birth certificate can be issued showing the new details for a fee of £10.00 or £15.00 after one month from the re-registration.
Applications where the Father is not named
If the father now wishes to acknowledge paternity of the child and he is not named on the birth entry, there are additional forms which must be completed. The parents should initially complete either
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Declaration Form 26 and DPF.
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Form 27 and DPM .
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Form 26 and Form 27 must be witnessed by the Registrar and forms DPF and DPM must be witnessed by either a Justice of the Peace, a Notary Public or a Councillor.
The above forms are available from any registration office. Once completed both forms should be sent to General Register Office for Scotland, Re-registration Unit, New Register House, Edinburgh with the completed Form RR1 and the child's birth certificate. If the re-registration application is on the grounds that the parents subsequently married one another and the father is already named on the birth entry, then this can be dealt with by any registration office.
Information for parents
If you were not married to each other at the time of your child's birth. If you have subsequently married each other, there is a procedure which will allow you to add your date of marriage to your child's birth entry. This procedure is called re-registration.
Once you have successfully completed and submitted the necessary forms this will allow the registrar to cancel the original birth entry. She will create a fresh birth entry which will include your date of marriage. There is no fee for the process, however if you want , you can purchase a new birth certificate for £10.00 at the time of re-registration or up to one month afterwards forllowing which the statutory fee of £15.00 per certificate would be applicable.
Application should be made to your local registration office.
Corrections of errors to a birth certificate, stillbirth certificate, death certificate, marriage certificate and civil partnership certificate
A registrar can correct a clerical error, e.g. an obvious spelling error or a transposition of letters or figures at any time prior to the register being examined by the District Examiner.
If incorrect facts are shown on a certificate, proof of the correct facts to be recorded must be produced to the registrar.
Certain errors can only be corrected on the authority of the Registrar General for Scotland. The Registrar General will authorise the correction. A formal notification will then be sent to the registration office where the event was registered.