Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953

Registers, certified copies, etc.E+W

25 Provision of registers, etc., by Registrar General.E+W

Registers of live–births, still–births and deaths shall be in such form as may be respectively prescribed, and the Registrar General shall provide any such registers, and any of the forms hereafter mentioned for making certified copies of entries in registers, which may be required for the purposes of this Act.

26 Quarterly returns to be made by registrar to superintendent registrar.E+W

(1)Every registrar shall in the months of January, April, July and October on such days as may be appointed by the Registrar General—

(a)make and deliver to the superintendent registrar in the prescribed form a true copy, certified by him in the prescribed manner, of all the entries of live–births, still–births and deaths made in the registers kept by him during the period of three months ending with the last day of the month immediately preceding that in which the copy is required by this subsection to be made;

(b)if no live–birth, still–birth or death has been registered in his sub–district during that period, deliver to the superintendent registrar in the prescribed form a certificate to that effect under his hand.

(2)Where a certified copy is delivered to the superintendent registrar under the foregoing subsection, the superintendent registrar shall verify the copy and, if the copy is found to be correct, shall certify it under his hand to be a true copy; and where a certificate that there have been no registrations is so delivered, the superintendent registrar shall countersign the certificate.

27 Quarterly returns by superintendent registrar to Registrar General.E+W

Every superintendent registrar shall four times in every year, on such days as may be appointed by the Registrar General, send to the Registrar General all certified copies of entries in registers of live–births, still–births or deaths which he has received during the three months immediately preceding the days so appointed respectively, and if the copy of any part of any register has not been duly delivered to him the superintendent registrar shall procure, as far as is possible consistently with the provisions of this Act, that the deficiency is remedied.

28 Custody of registers, etc.E+W

(1)Every registrar shall keep safely all registers of live–births, still–births and deaths which are in his custody and, when not in use, the registers shall be kept in the register box provided for the purpose by the Registrar General.

(2)When a register of live–births or a register of deaths is filled, the registrar shall deliver it to the superintendent registrar to be kept by him with the records of his office.

(3)When a register of still–births is filled, the registrar shall deliver it to the superintendent registrar, who shall forward it to the Registrar General.

(4)The certified copies sent to the Registrar General under the last foregoing section and the registers forwarded to him under the last foregoing subsection shall be kept in the General Register Office in such order and manner as the Registrar General, subject to any directions of the Minister, may think fit:

29 Correction of errors in registers.E+W

(1)No alteration shall be made in any register of live–births, still–births or deaths except as authorised by this or any other Act.

(2)Any clerical error which may from time to time be discovered in any such register may, in the prescribed manner and subject to the prescribed conditions, be corrected by any person authorised in that behalf by the Registrar General.

(3)An error of fact or substance in any such register may be corrected by entry in the margin (without any alteration of the original entry) by the officer having the custody of the register, . . . F1 and upon production to him by that person of a statutory declaration setting forth the nature of the error and the true facts of the case made by two qualified informants of the birth or death with reference to which the error has been made, or in default of two qualified informants then by two credible persons having knowledge of the truth of the case.

[F2(4)Where—

(a)an error of fact or substance (other than an error relating to the cause of death) occurs in the information given by a coroner’s certificate concerning . . . F3 a death touching which he has held an inquest; or

(b)such an error relating to the cause of death occurs in the information given by a coroner’s certificate issued under [F4section 16(4) of the Coroners Act 1988] in the case of an inquest which was adjourned in compliance with [F4section 16(1)] of that Act (adjournment in cases of murder etc. or at request of D.P.P.) but was subsequently resumed],

the coroner, if satisfied by evidence on oath or statutory declaration that such an error exists, may certify under his hand to the officer having the custody of the register in which the information is entered the nature of the error and the true facts of the case as ascertained by him on that evidence, and the error may thereupon be corrected by that officer in the register by entering in the margin (without any alteration of the original entry) the facts as so certified by the coroner.