Allow accented and diacritic letters on UK birth/marriage/death certificates
Update the General Register Office systems to allow accents and diacritic marks (é, ü, ñ, etc.) on official birth, marriage, and death certificates. This would ensure names are recorded exactly as chosen by parents or individuals.
Signatures
6
signatures
Government response threshold (10,000) · 6/10,000
Debate threshold (100,000) · 6/100,000
- 06 JAN 2026Petition rejectedalready-happening
The General Register Office (GRO) policy is to allow these characters on birth certificates, including in relation to corrections to certificates that are requested within three months of a child’s birth on production of appropriate supporting evidence. We are therefore unable to accept your petition.
- 09 NOV 2025Petition created
Background
Current systems strip accents from names, forcing parents to register inaccurate spellings. This affects families with Welsh, Irish, European, and other heritage names. Supporting accented letters would modernise UK recordkeeping, reflect cultural identity, and bring the UK in line with other countries.