How long does it take to get the birth certificate?

The US Embassy site says you need this for the appointment.

Just curious how long it takes to receive the UK long-form birth certificate after the child is born? Are we talking days, weeks, months? Baby's due in early July and I'd like to travel in October. Seems like the actual passport getting part should be pretty quick once I get my embassy appointment.

Any ideas about getting this birth cert after the baby's born? I assume they will give me info about it at the birthing centre.

Thanks!

I got my daughers straight away. went to the registry office. gave all the details. and i was given a short form and a long form birth certificate afterwards

You just get it at your local town council. Check their web site, there should be info there. You either show up or make an appt (depends upon what your Council prefers), pay the fees, and leave with the certificate. Now, I can't recall for sure, but I'm almost certain the long form costs more and it may have taken a day or 2 to get it... but I'm not certain. I really think my husband just paid an extra fee and came home with 2 birth certificates on the same day (we have short and long for both kids).

You have 6 weeks to register the birth and you get a copy of the long form cert. at the tiime of registration. I got 3 copies of the long form when I registered Ethan's birth. I think they were £7 each for the extras (this was in 2004). 

Just curious how long it takes to receive the UK long-form birth certificate after the child is born?

Sounds like you think the BC is sent to you automatically maybe? You have to go and get it usually from the register office in the district where the birth took place, or if this is not possible, any other register office, bearing in mind that if the birth was in England or Wales it must be registered in England or Wales.  You must do this, and you must do it within 42 days of the birth. If parents are married at time of birth or conception, either the mother or father can register the birth on their own. If they are not, either both can go together, or else if one parent cannot go they complete a statutory declaration form which the other parent takes with them to the register office. You get the certificate at once after the registration is completed. The official record of birth is, in fact, a long certificate, A4 size, portrait format, held in a register. The landscape format short certificate which is a summary, is free, and if you want a long certificate at the same time it costs £3.50 at the time of registration or £7 later. Births registered in Wales get a bilingual long BC with the English version on one side and the Welsh on the other, and you may find that certain agencies which require copies, will want both sides.

The Long Form Registration Ceritificate you can purchase the day you register your child. When we registered our daughter we were given a short form for free and purchased her long form for £3.50 and had both of them before we left the office from our appointment. She was born 19 May and the earliest appointment to register her was 4 June.

Ah, ok, this is very helpful. I was somehow thinking they automatically gave you a birth cert...as they do in the US (certificate of live birth).  Didn't realize you had to go in and register the birth. Not a problem though, just gotta figure out how it all works.

How many extra copies did you all decide to get? I am curious because we will probably move back to the US in the year after the baby is born, and I imagine there will be times we'll need the birth certificate over the years. Might be hard to get more copies once we're out of the country.

Might be hard to get more copies once we're out of the country.

Not hard, just more expensive. Google "UK birth certificate" for companies that obtain them and post them worldwide.