Registration of stillbirth and baby loss certificates

Warning: This briefing discusses issues around stillbirth which some readers may find distressing.

This briefing paper deals with the position in England and Wales unless otherwise stated.

Registration of stillbirth

The birth of a child in England and Wales must be registered, generally within 42 days of the date of the birth.

When a baby is stillborn (born without signs of life) after 24 weeks of pregnancy, the stillbirth must be registered in the stillbirth register.

There is no provision in law to allow the registration of stillbirth before the 24^th week of pregnancy.

Calls for change

Calls have been made for some time to change the law relating to the 24-week threshold for registration of stillbirth. Private members’ bills have been introduced in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords with the intention of either removing or lowering the threshold.

Recognition of stillbirth below 24 weeks’ gestation

In March 2018, the Department of Health and Social Care established the Pregnancy Loss Review.

The purpose of the review was to consider:

• the impact on families of being unable to register a miscarriage before the 24-week threshold
• whether it would, on balance, be beneficial to look at legislative options to amend existing primary legislation to allow parents to register a miscarriage
• options to improve NHS gynaecology and maternity care practice for parents who experience a miscarriage and other causes of baby loss

The Pregnancy Loss Review reported in July 2023. Having consulted with parents, baby loss and bereavement charities and healthcare professionals, the review recommended a scheme of certification for baby loss before 24 weeks’ gestation. Certificates would be issued by the government and be available for those parents who would like one, regardless of the type of loss experienced. Certificates would also be capable of being backdated to acknowledge the loss of a baby retrospectively. 

In its response to the report, the Conservative government said the certification scheme would be tested with 1,000 bereaved families – subject to which certificates would be launched during International Baby Loss Awareness Week 2023.

Baby loss certificates

In the event, baby loss certificates were introduced in England on 22 February 2024 to enable bereaved parents to commemorate babies lost before 24 weeks’ gestation since September 2018.

The scheme was extended in October 2024 with no back date. This means parents who experienced a loss before 28 weeks’ gestation in pregnancies that ended before 1 October 1992 can also apply for a certificate.

The scheme is voluntary, and certificates are provided for free. Parents who have suffered more than one loss may request separate certificates for each baby.

Baby loss certificates in other UK jurisdictions

The Scottish Government launched the Memorial Book of Pregnancy and Baby Loss Prior to 24 Weeks in October 2023. Applicants receive a certificate commemorating their baby in the form of a copy of the information recorded in the Memorial Book, which is held by the National Records of Scotland.

Northern Ireland launched its own baby loss certificate scheme in June 2026. Where a baby is lost before 24 weeks of pregnancy, a mother or father, or second female parent will be eligible to apply for a certificate to commemorate their baby.

There is no comparable scheme in Wales. The former Welsh Labour government issued a ministerial direction in October 2025 to the NHS Business Services Authority to create a bilingual scheme for Wales, in line with the scheme in England. However, the Plaid Cymru administration said in August 2026 that the absence of a Welsh national records system was proving a barrier to creating a scheme (PDF).