Birth Certificates – register of an event

Dear M.Johnston,

Thank you for your recent enquiry to the General Register Office. We have
treated your enquiry under official correspondence rather than under the
provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, but this has made no
difference to the content of my reply.

I have reproduced your questions below, and have placed our answers
alongside each:

    
     A copy of the long birth certificate is a copy of an extract of a
     register book signed by the mother/father after being invited to
     attend to register the event of the birth of their baby
     son/daughter. It is presumed unless expressly denied by yourselves
     that this is a contract/trust between Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth
     Windsor and her government appointed trustees who is holding the
     babies consolidated share of the commonwealth in trust until they
     are old enough to claim it.

The Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953 specifies that :
In the case of every birth it shall be the duty—
(a)of the father and mother of the child……...to give to the
registrar…….information of the particulars required to be registered
concerning the birth, and in the presence of the registrar to sign the
register.

This is simply a legal obligation to register the child's birth. Nothing
more. It is not a "contract or trust" between HM the Queen / Govt
appointed trustees and the parents (or anyone else). No-one is holding any
"consolidated share of the commonwealth in trust until they are old enough
to claim it".

    
     A copy of the short birth certificate however does not contain the
     mother's or father's signature but only that of the registrar, a
     government agent.
    
     1)Who is this contract between?

See above - there is no contract.
    
     2)Why is it only signed by the registrar and does the registrar
     sign the register once or twice?
    
The short birth certificate is an extract of the full birth entry. It does
not contain details of the parents of the child, and does not contain the
name or signatures of the "informant" (eg the mother) who gave the
information at registration.

     3)Why are two copies of a birth certificate created from the
     registered ‘birth event’ when only one entry is signed by the
     mother/father in the register?

The "short" birth certificate was created to simply show the child's
details and not the parents. The person registering the birth is issued
with a short certificate at the time of the birth registration.

    
     4)Who authorises a second short birth certificate to be created
     without the express permission of the mother and father?

The "short" birth certificate is specified in the Births and Deaths
Registration Act and the form prescribed in subsequent regulations.

    
     5)Why does this short document not require the mother or fathers
     signature?

It does not contain the parents details, as above.

It may be worth pointing out that the mother (and father, if in attendance
at the registration) only sign the actual register entry. Every subsequent
certificate issued from that entry is a copy of details in it. The
registration officer issuing the certificate signs the certificate to
indicate that it is an accurate copy of information from the entry
concerned.

    
     6)Why do you not charge for this legal document (short birth
     certificate) which is not signed by either the mother or father but
     only choose to charge for the long one which is signed by both
     parties?

A short certificate is issued at the time of registration without charge.
This helps the mother show that she has fulfilled her duty in registering
the child's birth. Any subsequent short certificate is charged for.

    
     7)Why can copies of the short birth certificate signed by a
     government public servant no longer be obtained online at the GRO
     (although it is still possible to order copies of the long birth
     certificate signed by both the government public servant and the
     mother or father)?

Short certificates were never available online: they are extracts of the
full entry, and as such, and given the relatively small demand for them,
it was not cost-effective to incorporate this into the online system. A
short certificate may be ordered from GRO either via our telephone contact
centre or by post.

    
     8)Are the consequences of being invited to register their baby's
     birth event being fully explained to the mothers & fathers?
     Provide the documentation and law that explain where this is stated
     clearly.

The mothers and fathers are not "invited" to register their baby, it is  a
legal duty. The birth registration is to ensure that all births are
recorded. I am not clear what you mean by "the consequences".

    
     9)Is this long birth certificate document connected to the Crown
     City of London (1 square mile)?
     For what purpose is this being used?

No, there is no such connection.
    
     10) Does the short document have anything to do with Her Majesty
     Queen Elizabeth a completely separate entity who is holding our
     share of the common wealth in Trust via our signed contract with
     her ( via our long birth certificate?

No, there is no such connection. The long birth certificate is not a
"signed contract with HM the Queen", who is not holding "our share of the
commonwealth in Trust" via it. It is simply a record of the details in the
birth register (see above).

    
     11) Under whose authority do you operate that of Queen Elizabeth
     Windsor or the Crown city of London, unless expressly denied it is
     presumed to be the latter?
   
As public servants we are employees of the Crown. We have no connection
with the City of London. 

Selwyn Hughes
Communications Manager
Identity and Passport Service | General Register Office | Communications
and Business Support | Room 205 Smedley Hydro | Trafalgar Road | Southport
| PR8 2HH

E: [email address]
To find out more about the General Register Office, visit
[1]www.direct.gov.uk/gro

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