Submit additional information regarding the registration of a birth, including a declaration of the first name and the determination of the surname

If you have had a baby, you must notify the relevant registry office and submit the necessary documents.

The registry office responsible is the one within whose jurisdiction your child was born.

If your child was born in a hospital or a birthing centre, these facilities will register the birth with the registry office. In the case of a home birth, you will be given a birth certificate, which you must submit in person to your local registry office.

You must also submit any further details and documents that cannot be obtained from the registers when registering the birth.

The registry office keeps a register of births in which the following entries are made:

• The child’s first names and maiden name.
• Place, day, hour and minute of birth.
• The child’s gender.
• Parents’ first names and surnames, and their gender

Choosing your child’s first name:
As the person with parental responsibility, you are free to choose your child’s first name. The first names you choose must not be contrary to the child’s best interests. This means the following:

• The first name must not be offensive, nor should it expose the child to ridicule
• the name must be recognisable as a name
• The name must correspond to the child’s gender
• Five first names is the maximum

You may only choose names that are, by their very nature, forenames as forenames for your child. Several forenames may be combined to form a single forename. Such a combination must not contain more than one hyphen.

Choosing the child’s surname at birth:
If, as parents with custody, you share a married name, your child will be given this as their surname at birth. If, as parents, you do not share a married name and you have joint custody, you may, by making a declaration to the registry office, designate one of your surnames as the child’s surname at birth. A declaration made after the birth has been registered must be notarised. Once you have chosen a birth name for your child, this will also apply to any further children you have together.

If you have not yet decided on a name for your child following their birth, you must register it with the relevant registry office within one month. Once this period has expired, the registry office is obliged to notify the relevant family court.

As the person with parental responsibility, you may instruct the registry office that your child should be given the surname:

• under the law of a country of which you or the other parent are a national, or
• under German law, if you or the other parent is habitually resident in Germany