Submitted on Sunday 9th November 2025
Rejected on Tuesday 6th January 2026
Current status: Rejected
Rejection code: already-happening (see below for details)
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.
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.
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The Government e-Petitions Team gave the following reason:
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.
216.73.216.30 Sat, 04 Jul 2026 07:29:54 +0100
