How to get a certificate
You can obtain your certificate in a number of ways depending on which country the “life event” was registered in.
Find out how to get a certificate for a birth, marriage or death in:
England and Wales
Civil registration of life events was introduced in England and Wales in 1837.
Ordering a certificate online
GRO have a secure site for online ordering of birth, marriage and death certificates. This can be used to place orders using the GRO Index reference and for certificates dating from 1900 up to 18 months from the present date where the exact details are known.
For details visit the GRO’s certificate ordering service
.
Ordering certificates by post/fax/telephone
You can order your certificate using a form which can be downloaded from the General Register Office website.
The following links are to the General Register Office website which gives information on certificate fees and forms for obtaining birth certificates, ordering marriage certificates and ordering death certificates.
If you have been unable to access an index to find the appropriate GRO reference, you can still apply for a certificate by telephone, fax or post. You should supply as much information as possible - full name(s), date of the event, and the place where the event took place. For further information see obtaining a certificate.
Other sources
Microfiche copies are also available at some local libraries and record offices and at the Family History Centres of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Information about copies held locally can be found at the General Registry Office website. It is also worth trying the Free BMD - searchable online database of birth, death and marriage indexes. Free BMD is a volunteer-run project and the database is not yet complete.
The National Library of Wales also has copies of the birth, marriage and death indexes for Wales and England.
Scotland
Civil registration of life events was introduced in Scotland in 1855.
Certificates are held by the General Register Office for Scotland. To obtain a certificate that is less than 100 years old you can order your certificate in person, by post or by telephone. You will find full details on the cost of obtaining records and searching records in person on the GROS website.
For historical births, marriages or deaths, indexes and images are available on the internet on the ScotlandsPeople website. The website is a joint initiative between the General Register Office for Scotland, the National Archives of Scotland and the Court of the Lord Lyon. A pay-per-view website, including indexes and digital images of the statutory registers of births (1855-1906), marriages (1855-1931) and deaths (1855-1956) for Scotland, the 1841 to 1901 Scottish censuses, Wills and Testament 1513 to 1901and Old Parish Registers of baptisms (1553 to 1854) and marriages (1553 to 1854).
Ireland
Certificates of births and deaths (from 1864) and registers of Protestant marriages (from 1845), all marriages (from 1864) are held by the General Register Office of Northern Ireland. You can order your certificate in person, by post, by telephone or by using the secure online ordering system. You can find full details on the General Register Office of Northern Ireland website.
India and related countries
For India and related countries i.e. Aden, Burma, China (Macao and Whampoa), Kuwait, Pakistan, St Helena, Straits Settlements (Penang, Singapore, Malacca) and Sumatra see the Oriental and India Office Collections at the British Library.
