Birth, Death, Marriage, Civil Partnership and Citizenship

Coronavirus (COVID-19) information updated 23 April 2021

This is the current information for Worcestershire Registration Service. It will be updated as circumstances change and supersedes any other information contained within our pages.

Registration offices

Please note: all registration offices in Worcestershire are closed to the public unless you have a pre booked appointment.

Birth registration

Due to the current Covid restrictions and lockdown, we are dealing with a very high demand for appointments.  We are working through those babies' birth dates which are near to or over 42 days. Please complete the enquiry form below.

If you have already completed this form; please do not send follow up emails or enquires, we will already have your details and will contact you once we reach the date of your child’s birth in our list. Please bear with us. 

Thank you for your patience whilst we work through this unprecedented demand for appointments, please be aware that, because of the current Covid situation. If baby has not yet been registered, this does not prevent you from being able to claim child benefit.

Death registration

All death registrations are now undertaken by telephone. Once the paperwork has been received from the Doctor and/or Coroner we will call you to book in a date and time for the registration to take place via phone.

A registrar will then call on the chosen date and time to register the death with you. The form for the funeral will then be sent directly to the funeral director and burial or cremation authority for you.

Ceremonies

On 22 February 2021 the Prime Minister announced his plans for emerging from the lockdown and presented a roadmap with a step-by-step plan to ease restrictions in England. The plans apply to all areas of England from the dates specified but are subject to the four tests outlined in the roadmap being met at each step.  

The remaining changes planned are:

• Step 3: No earlier than 17 May – Legal limit of 30 attendees
• Step 4: No earlier than 21 June – No legal limit on attendees (subject to the outcome of the scientific Event Research Programme – from April the government will run pilots for events such as large weddings to help determine how measures such as enhanced testing might allow large groups to attend without social distancing.)

Please note that the actual number of people able to attend a wedding or civil partnership ceremony will depend on how many people can be safely accommodated within the venue with social distancing, and where the venue manager has carried out a risk assessment and taken all reasonable measures to limit the risk of transmission of COVID-19. 

Please liaise with your venue regarding covid room capacities. 

We have created for our couples, an outline of the ceremony taking into consideration the current guidance from central government COVID-19 marriage and civil partnership ceremonies guidance.

Guidance will change periodically, and we plan to update our guidance as and when any changes are published. We look forward to helping prepare for your special day and thank you for your continued support and patience.

Changes to Marriage Ceremonies from 4 May 2021 

The Civil Partnerships, Marriages and Deaths (Registration Etc.) Act will come into force on 4 May 2021.

The Act provides for the modernisation of marriage registration for the first time since 1837, by introducing a marriage schedule system and registration in an electronic register. Paper marriage registers will no longer be used by Registrars attending Civil ceremonies or be used for ceremonies taking place at churches and places of worship. You will no longer receive a handwritten marriage certificate at the ceremony.

Please see changes to marriage ceremonies FAQs for further information.

This webpage will be updated in the coming weeks with more details. All couples affected will be contacted ahead of their ceremony to explain what these changes mean for them and their ceremony.

Complete an Enquiry Form