Federation Of Family History Societies

Important Information on how to obtain birth, death and marriage certificates from The General Register Office for England and Wales.

The Family Records Centre is now closed and the General Register Office (GRO) no longer provides a facility for customers to apply for and collect certificates in central London. All certificates are issued by post via the General Register Office based in Southport, Merseyside. The service provided by local register offices remains unchanged.

Set below is a summary of answers to questions about access to Indexes and certificates.

Q1. How do I obtain a copy of a certificate?

A. There are a number of ways you can apply for a certificate:

• Online, at www.ips.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates, this is the cheapest and quickest method of applying from GRO
• By post from GRO, PO Box 2, Southport. Merseyside, PR8 2JD, please telephone the Contact Centre on 0845 603 7788 to request an application form
• If you have a credit or debit card you can order a certificate over the telephone via the GRO Contact Centre on 0845 603 7788
• From the local register office in the district where the event was registered

Q2 What if I need a certificate in a hurry?

A. A priority ordering service exists at GRO Southport for urgent applications. All certificates will be sent out by post, for further details please visit www.ips.gov.uk/gro or telephone 0845 603 7788. Alternatively you may wish to contact the register office for the district where the event was registered.

Q3. Where can I access the GRO Index?

A. Microfiche copies of some of the births, marriages, deaths and overseas indexes from 1837 onwards continue to be available at many other local libraries, record offices and other facilities including third party web sites. For a list of places where microfiche copies are held or to obtain more information please visit the GRO web site at www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/research/groindexes/index

A full set of the indexes, including recent events, the Adopted Children Register, Civil Partnership Index and events which have been registered overseas can be found at:

• Greater Manchester County Record Office
• Birmingham Central Library
• Bridgend Reference and Information Library
• Plymouth Central Library
• City of Westminster Archives Centre
• The National Archives at Kew

Please note: it is not possible to obtain a certificate at any of these locations although some offices may provide Internet access to the GRO online ordering service.