Birth registration rules in 1901 UK

[Whipby]

Hi all, I wonder whether anyone can tell me how long people had to register a birth in the UK in 1901?  (I'm not sure whether it's the same as today). 

I'm just trying to find the accurate DoB for my grandad, as his school admission register has a different date from his birth certificate, so I'm wondering whether my great grandmother 'tweaked' his DoB when she registered him.

Thank you!

[Milliepede]

How far out was it? 

If he was alive in 1939 the register for that year should have his date of birth to compare. 

Do you know when his parents married?

[Whipby]

Yes, I have all that info, thank you!

His birth certificate says he was born on 13 January 1901, which was a Sunday.  His mother registered the birth on 23 February, a Saturday, which is 41 days after the DoB that she stated, and presumably the last working day possible for registration, the next day being a Sunday, and if the maximum time allowed was the same then as it is now.

All documents I've found for him so far that have a recorded DoB say 13 January, except for one.  His school admission record from 1911 says 10 January.

So it's just made me wonder whether she might have actually given birth on 10 January, but told the registrar the 13th, because otherwise she might've been fined for late registration, albeit only a few days late.

I believe he celebrated his birthday on the 13th, so it is probably correct, but it's just interesting to ponder!

[BumbleB]

Apologies for this - all, except the school say 13 January - I'd be inclined to say that the error was with the school registration    AND after all, people were not so pedantic in those days.  Plus apologies to Milliepede - the 1939 has a lot of discrepancies related to date of birth! 

[rosie99]

Yes, I have all that info, thank you!

His birth certificate says he was born on 13 January 1901, which was a Sunday.  His mother registered the birth on 23 February, a Saturday, which is 41 days after the DoB that she stated, and presumably the last working day possible for registration, the next day being a Sunday, and if the maximum time allowed was the same then as it is now.

I also thought that they had 6 weeks to register a birth at that time but I am sure someone will verify what it was

[AntonyMMM]

A birth should be registered (in E/W) within 42 days i.e. 6 weeks. That has applied since 1837, and still does today.

In 1901 the fee (not a fine) that became payable for a late registration was 2s 6d to the registrar and 2s 6d to the superintendent registrar, BUT that only became payable if the birth wasn't registered within 3 months of the birth.

So, in effect, the "free" period for registering was 3 months.

[Whipby]

Thanks all, I dare say the school registration was wrong!  It just got me thinking, that’s all 😊

Very interesting about the ‘free’ period of time being three months, thank you for that info 👍🏼. I think it was quite common, in my family at least, to give a false DoB, because some of them were quite open about it within the family!  They assumed they’d be fined for being late, but maybe that wasn’t the case.

[Andrew Tarr]

I also thought that they had 6 weeks to register a birth at that time but I am sure someone will verify what it was 

Since the GRO's recent attack of relative generosity I have worked through much of my (fairly modest) family tree, recording dates of registration against dates of birth.  A few parents went straight to the registry after a day or two.  The great majority waited until the sixth week, one or two of them apparently arranging a baptism on the same day.  So the evidence seems to be that 6 weeks has been the requirement since registration began.  Very occasionally a parent seems to have forgotten.

It seems that my ggg-grandfather made a habit of going from his farm into Ashburton to register his children as soon as he could.  A boy and a girl (twins) were registered with names the next day in 1842, but the father had to return just 5 days later to register the boy's (this time anonymous) death.  The likelihood of that happening was perhaps the main reason for the typical wait until the sixth week.

[farmeroman]

Apologies for this - all, except the school say 13 January - I'd be inclined to say that the error was with the school registration    AND after all, people were not so pedantic in those days.  Plus apologies to Milliepede - the 1939 has a lot of discrepancies related to date of birth! 

(My bolding) I have found multiple instances of the birth date of birth on the 1939 register being exactly one year out. No idea why that should happen.