How do you remove a father's name from a birth certificate?

Can a father's name be taken off a birth certificate?#

Only if he should never have been registered as the father. GOV.UK's correction route lets you change who the recorded father is if you can prove that the man named on the certificate is not the child's natural father. It does not remove a biological father because he has no contact, has never paid, or is someone you would rather not see there: GOV.UK says a correction cannot show new information about circumstances that changed after the birth was registered.

Nor can a certificate be reissued without him: section 29 of the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953 allows an error of fact to be put right only by an entry in the margin, "without any alteration of the original entry".

What proof is needed?#

Proof that the man named is not the father. The General Register Office's notes give these examples, and say the list is not complete:

• a DNA test report from an approved tester;
• a court order;
• other conclusive evidence that rules him out, or that confirms who the biological father is.

For a DNA test to count, the GRO says the laboratory must meet the ISO 17025 accreditation standard and the samples must be collected securely, witnessed by an independent person who confirms who gave each one. A kit swabbed at home without such a witness does not meet that test. GOV.UK lists the government-accredited laboratories and says each sets its own fees.

One kind of court order is a declaration of parentage. Under section 55A of the Family Law Act 1986, the family court can declare whether a named person is or is not a child's parent, and it must notify the Registrar General. HM Passport Office's guidance notes that a re-registration that follows, under section 14A of the 1953 Act, can remove a father's or named man's details.

Who applies, and how?#

The GRO's notes say the application can come from the mother, the natural father, the man named on the certificate, or a person with legal responsibility for the child. GOV.UK adds that the man named does not always have to take part: the GRO can correct the entry if two of the mother, the natural father and the man named apply, and at least one of them signs.

1. Fill in the form. GOV.UK's form to remove the wrong father's details goes to the register office for the area where the birth was registered. Ask that office first how it takes the fee.
2. Send certified copies, not originals. The person certifying must not be related to you, in a relationship with you or living at your address.
3. The register office refers it on. Every correction involving paternity is authorised by the General Register Office itself.
4. Two statutory declarations. Once it accepts the evidence, the GRO sends forms for two people with knowledge of the facts to declare the error before a solicitor or another person allowed to take a declaration. They can be the mother, the man named, the biological father if a DNA test proved he is the father, and the DNA tester, who is likely to charge for it.
5. The register is corrected. You can then order a new full certificate.

How much does it cost to remove a father from a birth certificate?#

£99, the fee the Fees Regulations set for a correction made on the Registrar General's authority, which every paternity correction needs. The GRO's notes call it a consideration fee: you pay it when you apply, and it is not refunded if the correction is refused. On top come the DNA laboratory's own charge, any fee for the statutory declarations, and £12.50 for each new certificate.

How long does it take?#

If there are no problems, the GRO's notes say you can expect to hear within 25 working days; each further exchange can take up to 25 working days more.

What does the corrected certificate show?#

The original entry stays exactly as it was given. A note in the margin says that the named man's details should not have been recorded, with the date of the correction, and the GRO's notes say every certificate issued afterwards carries that note, because a certificate must show what the entry shows.

The correction leaves the space empty rather than filling it. If the mother and the biological father want him recorded, they then apply together to re-register the birth, which creates a new entry; GOV.UK describes it on its page about adding a father's name.

Does it change the child's surname?#

No. The GRO's notes answer this directly: the surname cannot be changed as part of the correction, because it was the surname in which the child was intended to be brought up, and only information found to be wrong can be corrected. A different surname is a separate change, made by a child deed poll with the agreement of everyone who has parental responsibility, or by a court order. Changing a child's surname to the mother's or the father's explains both and the passport that follows.

Does it end his parental responsibility?#

No, not by itself. HM Passport Office's guidance to its staff says that when a birth is re-registered or corrected, the parents named on the original certificate keep parental responsibility if they already held it, and that only a court can remove it once someone has it. It tells examiners that "an incorrect (removed) father may still have parental responsibility". For Northern Ireland it goes further: an unmarried father who gained parental responsibility through the registration keeps it even if it is established that he is not the father and his details are removed.

The Children Act 1989 says the same for England and Wales: a father who gained parental responsibility by being registered loses it only if a court orders it. So until a court decides, his agreement may still be needed for a change of the child's name. The guidance also tells passport staff to check a child's nationality where a birth has been re-registered with different parents, because a claim to British citizenship may have come through the man who was named. A family solicitor can advise; who has parental responsibility? has the general rules.

Scotland#

In Scotland a birth entry is changed by re-registration, which National Records of Scotland says can "change parentage details" and is free, or by an entry in its Register of Corrections. NRS describes no separate route for removing a father and asks you to contact its re-registration team. Where parentage is disputed, the Court of Session or a sheriff court can grant a declarator of non-parentage under section 7 of the Law Reform (Parent and Child) (Scotland) Act 1986. Section 48 of the Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages (Scotland) Act 1965 has the clerk of court notify the Registrar General of any decree that alters a person's status, for an entry in the Register of Corrections.

Northern Ireland#

nidirect has no page on removing a father. Its route for an error in a registration is the General Register Office for Northern Ireland's amendment form, GRO 229, and it says a correction may be made by a note in the margin. The law behind it, article 35 of the Births and Deaths Registration (Northern Ireland) Order 1976, lets an error of fact be corrected on a declaration by a qualified informant or by two credible people who know the true facts. A court can also declare whether a man is a child's parent under article 31B of the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings (Northern Ireland) Order 1989, and the court notifies the Registrar General. nidirect gives no fee, so ask GRONI before you apply.