If you find a mistake on a certificate you should contact the Register Office who hold the birth, death or marriage entry. The Registrar will then check the original entry in the Register. If that is correct but a mistake has occurred when the information was reproduced to create the certificate you will be able to obtain a new one. If, however, an error is discovered in the Register then a correction must be made in accordance with the set legal procedures.
Wherever possible, applications for corrections should be made by the person who gave the information for the registration. The informant will be asked to produce certain documents from around the time of the registration as evidence of the correct information. Depending on the type and nature of the mistake the Registrar may also require you to write a letter explaining why the error occurred.
In some cases the Registrar can correct the error in the Register without reference to the General Register Office but in other instances the information has to be sent to the Registrar General to obtain his authority before the correction can be made.