Lewisham Register Office: Births, Deaths, Marriage Notices and Ceremonies

Lewisham Council's Register Office page is the starting point for anyone in Lewisham town centre, Ladywell, Lee, Hither Green, Brockley or Blackheath. Fees and rules below are as published by the council and GOV.UK.

At a glance

• Address: 368 Lewisham High Street, Lewisham, SE13 6LQ, next to University Hospital Lewisham.
• Opening hours: Monday and Tuesday 9.10am to 4.15pm; Wednesday 10.10am to 4.15pm; Thursday and Friday 9.10am to 4.15pm; Saturday by appointment only. Phones are answered Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
• Contact: 020 8690 2128 and register.office@lewisham.gov.uk. Death registration appointments can also be booked on 020 8314 9268.
• Getting there: the council lists buses 47, 54, 75, 136, 185, 199 and 208, with the nearest stop Lewisham Park. Ladywell station is a seven-minute walk, and Lewisham DLR is a 20-minute walk or six-minute bus ride. Parking is limited; disabled parking is available on site. See the buses guide and train stations guide.

Births and stillbirths

The council's birth page says to book online if the baby was born in Lewisham, with an appointment of about 20 minutes. If you are in Lewisham but the baby was born elsewhere, you can book a declaration, which sends the details to the right district. You must have decided the baby's full name. Parents who are not married or in a civil partnership both attend to be named on the certificate, or one completes a statutory declaration of parentage.

You are asked to show a parent's document (passport, proof of address, driving licence, birth certificate or similar) and, for the baby, the notification of birth or the red book. GOV.UK's register a birth page says births must be registered within 42 days. The council lists certificate prices of £12.50 at registration or standard service, and £38.50 priority. Spelling corrections cost £75 if processed at the Register Office or £99 if referred to the General Register Office. For stillbirths, the council says to book through the death registration form and select stillbirth or neonatal death, and it will call you.

Deaths

According to the council's death registration page, appointments are at the Register Office. The medical examiner sends the medical certificate to the registrars, and you then book the earliest appointment you can attend; registration must be within five days of that unless the coroner is involved. Corrections after registration cost £99. Bring the person's full legal name, date and place of birth and death, last address and marital status, plus the funeral director's details. The certificate is issued at the end of the appointment at £12.50. GOV.UK's register the death page agrees on the five-day rule. The council also describes the Tell Us Once service, and an out-of-hours burial certificate service on weekends and bank holidays 9am to 12 noon via 020 8314 6000, for burials within 24 hours.

The council's wider deaths page covers funerals, memorials and the services at Hither Green Crematorium on Verdant Lane.

Giving notice of marriage or civil partnership

The giving notice page says notice is a face-to-face appointment with a registrar; a single appointment is half an hour and a double appointment about an hour. Book online and pay by card: £46.50 per partner for British and EEA nationals and those with settled or pre-settled status, £63 per partner where either is subject to immigration control, and a £114 Home Office referral fee for EEA citizens without status. It says you can book up to a year ahead, and must give at least 28 days' notice (up to 70 days under the Home Office scheme). Changes need two working days' notice. If you plan to marry abroad, the page says a certificate of no impediment, for British passport holders, costs £46.50 from 6 April 2026 and has a 29-day waiting period. GOV.UK's give notice page says give notice at least 29 days before, and hold the ceremony within 12 months.

Ceremonies: where, and what it costs

The council's ceremony page lists, for 2026/27, the Evelyn Suite at the Register Office (Monday to Thursday £304, Friday £372, Saturday £440; capacity 40) and the Register Office room, available on Wednesdays only at £62 for four people. Both are on the ground floor with a hearing loop. Licensed venues nearer your neighbourhood include the Clarendon Hotel, Montpelier Row, Blackheath, SE3 0RW; the Crown Tavern, Burnt Ash Hill, Lee, SE12 0AJ; and the Horniman Museum and Gardens, London Road, SE23 3PQ, plus venues in Catford and Bellingham. External venue fees are listed separately. Contact the venue first, then the council for registration officers.

Copies of Lewisham certificates from 1 January 1940 onward can be ordered via the council's certificates page, at £12.50 standard or £38.50 priority per certificate.