Register a birth

To register a birth, you need to book an appointment to go to a civil registration service.

You can book an appointment online or by phone. Walk-ins are available in some offices at certain times.

It’s free to register a birth, but you have to pay for an actual birth cert.

To avoid delays, bring all the documents you need to your appointment. Without them, we will not be able to register the birth.

You need to provide details of the father as well as the mother when registering a birth.

Find a civil registration service

Documents to bring to your appointment

Birth registration form

You must bring a completed birth registration form to your appointment.

If you are registering more than 1 birth, complete a separate form for each baby. For example, twins or triplets. Include on the form which baby was born first, second or third.

Download a registration of a birth form (PDF, 5 pages, 393KB)

If you had a home birth

If you had a home birth with a healthcare professional, they should have given you a signed birth notification form. This is a different form to the birth registration form. Bring both completed forms with you to your appointment.

If you had a home birth with no healthcare professional present, you need to:

Download a notification of a birth with no medical intervention form (PDF, 5 pages, 686KB)
Ask your local maternity hospital or GP to complete this form with you.
Bring this form and a completed birth registration form to your appointment with the civil registration service.

Photo ID

Please bring your government-issued photo ID plus a photocopy of the page or side of this ID that has your photo.

Accepted forms of ID:

Passport
Driver’s Licence
Public Services Card
Refugee/Asylum Card
National ID Card (Only if it is an officially accepted travel document in your country)

Marriage certificate - if the marriage was outside Ireland

If the marriage was outside the Republic of Ireland, bring your original marriage certificate.

If it is not in English or Irish, a translation must be from a certified translation service.

We can accept the multilingual form (a form in English and another language) available from most embassies or registration services.

Who can register a birth

Usually a parent or both parents register a birth.

There are some differences on what you need to do depending on your situation.

Married parents

If both parents are married to each other and the marriage took place in Ireland, either parent can register the birth. Only 1 signature is needed.

If the marriage was outside of Ireland, bring your original marriage certificate. If it is not in English or Irish, a translation can be used but it must be from a certified translation service. We can accept the multilingual form (a form in English and another language) available from most embassies or registration services.

Unmarried parents

If you are not married, both parents must attend the birth registration appointment.

You both need to bring valid photo ID and sign the birth registration form.

If both parents cannot attend, phone the civil registration service for advice.

Parents who get married after birth

Parents who marry after their child is born should re-register the birth. You will have to contact the civil registration service for a birth re-registration. You can do this even if you recorded the father's details when you first registered the birth.

Donor-conceived children

Conceiving a child through a donor is also known as donor-assisted human reproduction (DAHR)

To register the DAHR birth you need to contact the General Register Office (GRO)

How to register the birth of a donor-conceived child

Divorced parents

If the parents of the child are divorced or legally separated from each other, phone the civil registration service for advice.

If the mother has been previously married, phone the civil registration service to book an appointment.

More than one birth

If you need to register more than 1 birth, phone the civil registration service for advice.

If you are not a parent

If you need to register a birth but you are not a parent of the child, phone the civil registration service for advice.

Stillbirth

If you need to register a stillbirth, phone the civil registration service for advice.

Read about support you can get after a stillbirth

When to register a birth

You should wait 3 weeks after the birth before booking an appointment to register the birth.

You must register a birth within 12 months. If you need to register a birth after 12 months, phone the civil registration service for advice.

Your baby's surname

The surname of a baby registered to married parents cannot usually be changed.

Contact a civil registration service if you want to give your baby a surname that is different to either parents' surnames.

Father's details

You need to provide details of the father as well as the mother when registering a birth.

This is the law. It's to make it easier for a child to find out who their parents are if they want to in the future.

There are exceptions. A mother might not have to name the father if she has a compelling reason e.g. for safety and protection or legal reasons.

Contact your local civil registration service for advice on this.

If your child was born before 10 December 2025, this law does not apply.

Back to Register a birth, death or marriage

Warning notification:Warning