Certificates in England and Wales

Birth, marriage and death certificates started in England and Wales in 1837. There was a fee charged for registration at first. From 1874 this fee was abolished for births and deaths and they had to be registered at the local Registrar's office but, marriages could also be registered at the local churches. This means there are three sources of marriage certificates and two sources of birth and death certificates.

Until 1873 there was no penalty for failing to have a birth or death registered and as a result some certificates were not issued especially where the family was poor or lived some distance from the registrar. This changed as a result of the actions of Mary Ann Cotton, a Durham woman believed to be responsible for 21 murders. A few months after her trial and hanging the registration law was changed to make it an offence not to register a birth or death and to require a doctor to state the cause of death.

What information do you get?

To find the certificate you want, you'll need to consult the indexes. If you're looking for a certificate then your first place to consult should be the new index of births marriages and deaths being produced at http://freebmd.rootsweb.com/ This index to the registers is being produced by volunteers and covers 1837 - 1901. It can be a little slow and it's not quite finished yet so if searching it produces no result try looking in your local main library - Often you can find a microfisch copy of the index there.

There are also a number of websites which provide access to the indexes although a small charge is made for access:

 

Failing that you will need to write to:

General Register Office,
PO Box 2,
Southport,
Merseyside,
PR8 2JD
England

If you know the district where the event occurred and you happen to live in that area, then you can check for the certificate you want at the Local Registry Office - find it's address in the phone book or look up it's address here.

Fees for certificates are as follows (as of 6 April 2010):

There is no longer a certificate checking service offering a reduced fee if the certificate reference you provide is not the correct one.

The easiest way to get a certificate is to apply at the online certificate service site.

By telephone (standard certificate service) - on +44 (0) 845 603 7788 (8am to 8pm Monday to Friday. Saturday 9am to 4pm). For priority service, use +44 (0) - 151 - 471 - 4572, [the +44 is the UK country code, leave out the 0 following it if calling from outside the UK]. The General Register Office accepts payments by Visa, Visa Electron, Mastercard, Solo, Visa Debit or Maestro.

You can still order birth, marriage and death certificates by post, but you need to get an application form first.

To request the form you can email:

certificate.services@ips.gsi.gov.uk

You need to insert GQ in the subject line of your email to ensure a personal response to your query.

or go to their website at http://www.direct.gov.uk/gro

The Family Record Centre has a web site at http://www.familyrecords.gov.uk/

So what do you get?
The examples shown below is a copy of the information provided on the birth, marriage and death certificates for Charles Gullon Marr.

Birth Certificate:

REGISTRATION DISTRICT Tynemouth
1877 Birth in the Sub-District of Longbenton in the county of Northumberland
Column
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
No.
When and where born
Name, if any
Sex
Name and surname of father
Name, surname and maiden surname of mother
Occupation of father
Signature, description and residence of informant
When registered
Signature of Registrar
Name entered after registration
267 Twenty third August 1877 Bill Point Walker
Charles Gullon boy James Marr Rachel Marr formerly Gullon Iron Moulder Rachel Marr mother Bill Point Walker Third October 1877 John Brown Registrar  

The index entry for this certificate is:

Births, September quarter, 1877----------Marr, Charles Gullon, Newcastle on Tyne, 5C,756

Marriage Certificate:

REGISTRATION DISTRICT Newcastle on Tyne
1899 Marriage solemnized at the Parish Church in the Parish
             
of St Philip High Elswick in the County of Newcastle on Tyne
Column
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
No.
When Married
Name and surname
Age
Condition
Rank or Profession
Residence at time of Marriage
Father's Name and Surname
Rank or Profession of Father
423 June 3 1899 Charles Gullon Marr 22 Bachelor Labourer 141 Stanhope St James Marr (deceased) Moulder
Margaret Isabella Foggan 22 Spinster   107 Hamilton St Robert Foggan (deceased) Leather - cutter
Married in the Parish Church according to the Rites and Ceremonies of the Established Church by       or after Banns by me,
This marriage was solemnized between us, Charles Gullon Marr in the presence of us, George R. Foggan W.E. Mole
Margaret Isabella Foggan Mary Ann Middleton
Vicar

The index entries for this certificate are:

Marriages, September quarter, 1899----------Marr, Charles Gullon, Newcastle on Tyne, 3B,930
Cross referenced under the bride's name Foggan, Margaret Isabella, Newcastle on Tyne, 3B,930

Death Certificate:

REGISTRATION DISTRICT Newcastle on Tyne
1943 DEATH in the Sub-District of Byker in the county of Newcastle on Tyne
Column
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
No.
When and where died
Name and surname
Sex
Age
Occupation
Cause of death
Signature, description and residence of informant
When registered
Signature of Registrar
79 13 July 1943
120 Tynemouth Rd
Charles Gullon Marr Male 65 Horsekeeper Influenza
H. Gibson MRCS
John Marr, son 200 Byker Rd Newcastle 31st July 1943 C. Mond
Registrar

The index entry is :
Deaths, September quarter, 1943----------Marr, Charles Gullon, Byker, 5A,243

Points to note

  • The residence of the informant is not always useful
  • Use a birth certificate to find the parent's marriage certificate, which may be up to 31 years earlier.
  • Marriage certificates may give the age of the couple or they may be recorded as 'over 21' or 'of full age'. Sometimes, the bride or groom may be recorded as 'minor', indicating they were under 21.
  • Death certificates can be unreliable. The age of the deceased may not be precise and the full name may not be given.
  • Use a death certificate to find a birth certificate.

Scottish Certificates
Registration of Scottish births, marriages and deaths started a little later in 1855.

1855 birth records were very detailed (sample here) and areof great interest to the family historian. In addition to details about the child (date, place and time of birth, full name, sex), the parents' names (including maiden surname of mother), father's occupation, name of informant and relationship to child, an 1855 birth certificate also contains information on siblings, the ages and birthplaces of both parents, their usual residence and the date and place of their marriage. Such detail proved difficult to sustain and entries were modified from 1856. Information on siblings was removed, as were ages and birthplaces of parents and date and place of parents' marriage. In birth certificates since 1861 however, the date and place of the parents' marriage was reinstated.

The best place to start your search for these records (and for census records, parish register entries exceeding 100 years old and wills) is on the Web at www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk. You can also find Scottish records at The General Register Office for Scotland - http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/ . Once you have found your record in the indexes you can order a certificate online and view it online immediately. Each certificate you view currently costs you £1.00. That's a much better facility (and value) than the English system. Not only that but the fees you pay for online access for other documents such as Census and Parish Registers are now valid for up to 90 days - again much better than the English system.

Irish Certificates
Civil registration commenced in 1864 but many Irish records were destroyed in 1922. Records from 1864 to 1922, for all Ireland, and from 1922 for the Republic are held at the Office of the Registrar General, Joyce House, 8-11 Lombard Street, Dublin 2, Ireland. Northern Irish records since 1922 are held at the GRO, Oxford House, Chichester Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland, BT1 4HL. You may find the Irish Times site at http://scripts.ireland.com/ancestor/browse/records/state/ of use Other places you could try are http://www.ancestryireland.com/test/database.php and http://www.origins.net/.

 

 

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