You have six weeks to Register the birth of your Baby, however, given the current situation with COVID-19 and the government recommendation for non-essential outings, this is unlikely to be enforced.
It is therefore advised to hold off registering the birth of your baby at present to ensure the safety of yourself and your new baby.
We appreciate that in normal circumstances you need to Register your baby’s birth in order to get a HS123 form, which allows you to register the baby at your GP Surgery. You can still request to register you baby with your GP by providing the Health & Care Number, baby’s full name and address via the telephone to your surgery. The Health & Care number can be found in the baby’s red book on the first page, or on the discharge sheet (also contained in the red book).
With regard to the application for Child Benefit, for which a birth certificate is usually requested, GRO have agreed a process with the Department for Communities to enable parents to claim child benefit without providing a birth certificate. When a baby is born midwives have a legal duty to notify the birth to the Registrar (which is received as the Health & Care Number). This is done electronically through a ‘notification of birth’ form (CHS1). The mother is also given a copy of this form. This is a legal document and during the current situation this fully completed form will be accepted as supporting evidence of the birth in lieu of the birth certificate. You can therefore submit the CHS1 form along with the child benefit application form. Please retain a copy of the form as you may require it when you come to register the birth. If you do not have a copy of the form you should contact your midwife and they will be able to provide one. Child benefit can be backdated for up to three months.