Births, deaths and marriages

The Register office is open by appointment only.

Opening times are:

• Births and deaths - Monday to Friday 9am to 4pm
• Marriage and civil partnerships - Monday to Saturday 9am to 4pm           

Please note the office is closed between 1pm and 2pm Monday to Friday.

Birth registration

Registrations will be strictly by appointment only. If parents are married or in a civil partnership only one parent should attend the office.

Visit the births webpage for more information.

Death registration

There is no change to the arrangements for registering deaths and stillbirths, this remains by telephone only.

Appointments to register a death can still be made as usual by calling 0191 433 3000 or by using the online booking system.

Visit the deaths and funerals page for more information.

Marriage and civil partnership

We are taking notices of marriage and civil partnership.

We are currently prioritising the large number of couples who already have existing marriage or civil partnership bookings with us and need to reschedule their ceremonies. We are not taking any new ceremony or civil partnership bookings for 2020, for Gateshead Civic Centre or any other venue in Gateshead.

Visit the marriages and civil partnerships page for more information.

Copy certificates

We will be not issuing copy certificates in person. Only copy certificates which are required for urgent legal purposes can be ordered by phone and will be posted out. There will be no collection service.

The Bereavement Services office is open between 9am and 4pm Monday to Friday, but will be closed between 1pm and 2pm.

There will be no face-to-face enquiries with the Bereavement Services office until further notice. Please contact us on 0191 433 3816, 0191 433 3811 or 0191 433 3815. You can also email us at cemeteriesandcrematoria@gateshead.gov.uk

Services can now go ahead for burial of ashes. Where a transfer of Exclusive Right of Burial is required, this will need to be fully completed before a burial of ashes can be booked.

We can now accept accept memorial, wall and kerb plaque applications as well as Book of Remembrance entries, but there may be a slight delay in processing these.

We can also now carry out grave searches. Please contact us if you would like any searches carried out.

The Book of Remembrance rooms at Birtley and Saltwell crematoria will be reopened from 20 July 2020. All visitors must follow social distancing guidelines. Hand sanitising units are available.

For more information visit our cemeteries and crematoria pages.