How to Order Birth, Marriage and Death Certificates From England

Since 1837 the registration of births, marriages and deaths has been compulsory in England and Wales, although a law was needed by 1875 that imposed a fine due to non-registration. You can get a copy of your ancestor's birth, marriage or death certificate by mail or in person from the General Register Office but it is usually cheaper to get the certificate from the local Register Office where the event took place.

One option you might want to do before you actually lay down your money is to go to FreeBMD to see if your ancestor's info is available online. This is an excellent, though incomplete, resource with almost 200 million records currently available.

A birth certificate should include the following:

• date and place of birth


• the child's name


• the child's sex


• father's name


• mother's name (sometimes including maiden name)


• occupation of the father


• signature, description and resident of the person providing the information


• date of registration

A marriage certificate should include the following:

• date and place of marriage


• names of bride and groom


• age at the date of marriage


• marital status


• occupations of both parties


• address


• name and occupation of bride's father


• name and occupation of groom's father


• signatures of both parties and any witnesses

A death certificate should include the following:

• date and place of death


• sex


• age


• occupation


• cause of death


• name and surname of the deceased


• informant's details


• date of registration

For births, marriages and deaths registered in England and Wales, you may apply online for any certificate only if you have the full GRO index reference. In the case of events in the last 50 years you will be asked to supply further details when you complete the online application form.

If you have not done your own searching in the GRO indexes, you can apply online for any birth, marriage or death which took place on or after 1st January, 1900 up til 18 months from the current date, provided you know the exact date of the event. Again, you will be asked to supply further details for more recent births and deaths as you complete the online application.

The General Register Office has a central index of all births, marriages and deaths registered in England and Wales from 1837. They allocate an "index reference number" to each event based on which year, quarter and district the event was registered.

Microfilm copies of indexes to birth, marriage and death registrations are available to be searched at several local and national libraries and also at the LDS research facilities. Also some of the local register offices are online at ukbmd.org.uk.

There are two levels of service you can specify when ordering the certificate, each at a different price. I find the Standard Service is sufficient, but if you must have that certificate quickly, it will cost about 3 times as much for the Priority Service.
Your certificate will be sent by mail. For customers outside the UK, airmail postage is included in the fees quoted. By law, information supplied by the General Register Office can only be provided in the form of a certificate - which is why they are unable to e-mail or fax the details to you.

Online Fees
For Standard Service, the certificate will be £7.00 if you have the GRO index reference. Without the GRO index reference will cost you £10.00. Standard service with GRO reference supplied will be mailed on the fourth working day (not including weekends or bank holidays) from receipt.
Standard service without GRO reference supplied will be mailed on the fifteenth working day (not including weekends or bank holidays) from receipt.

For Priority Service, the certificate will be sent the next working day, as long as your order has been taken or received before 4pm. But the cost for faster service is heavy. the certificate will be £23.00 if you have the GRO index reference. Without the GRO index reference will cost you £26.00.

You can order and pay for certificates online now.

If you are using the GRO site for the first time you will need to complete the registration process. You will only need to go through this process the first time you use the system.

What Info Do I Need to Register?

1. A valid credit or debit card: Visa, Visa Electron, Mastercard, Solo, Visa Debit or Maestro


2. Your full name and mailing address


3. An e-mail address


4. Details of the registration event you are applying for - e.g. birth, marriage or death

You can also order certificates by:

Ordering by Phone

The GRO accepts phone orders using Visa, Visa Electron, Mastercard, Solo, Visa Debit or Maestro. You need to call +44 (0)845 603 7788 and have your information available to hand. Remember to figure in any time zone differences.

They are available:
Monday to Friday 8am - 8pm (excluding Bank Holidays)
Saturday 9am - 4pm
They request that you have your credit or debit card ready.

If you prefer to apply for a certificate by mail rather than online or by phone you can akways request an application form be sent to you by regular mail by emailing your request to:

queries.clerk@ons.gsi.gov.uk

stating which type of application form you want. Don't forget to include your name and address.

One additional point. Starting 1 September 2008, applications will only be accepted on their new style forms. They need to be completed in full and returned by mail to the General Register Office, along with the correct payment either by check, money order, or credit card. Also, they won't accept faxed or photocopied copies of the forms. The original form has to be returned to the General Register Office. Mail to:

GRO
PO Box 2
Southport
Merseyside
England
PR8 2JD