Federation Of Family History Societies

Improved Access to GRO Indexes

The General Register Office has made the following announcement regarding interim measures for viewing indexes when the Family Records Centre closes. This is in response to the very strong representations made by the Federation and other members of the FRC User Group. It is gratifying to note that we have been listened to on this occasion.

"The closure of the Family Records Centre (FRC) in March will bring an end to the public facility to access the GRO indexes at this location. The Registrar General has a statutory responsibility to provide a searchable index of registration events for the general public and the intention was to fulfil this by making the indexes available at The National Archives, Kew. Many customers have expressed concern about the need to travel to Kew to access these indexes.

GRO has recently reviewed its position on the availability of the indexes and has now entered into discussions with a number of libraries and a record office in England and Wales, as well as the Society of Genealogists, on hosting the full range of GRO indexes. Subject to arrangements being finalised, it is planned that upon closure of the FRC, the GRO indexes for all registration events will be made available at Greater Manchester County Record Office, Birmingham Central Library, Bridgend Reference and Information Library and Plymouth Central Library, as well as TNA. The Society of Genealogists will provide a central London venue for access to these indexes. This proposed provision may be extended if there is proved to be a need for wider public availability in other parts of the country.

The information available on microfiche at each of these centres will include births, deaths and marriages from 1837 to 2006, adoptions from 1927 to 2007, civil partnerships from 2005 to 2007, overseas registrations from 1761 to 2006 and the provisional indexes for births and deaths for 2007. During the course of 2008 and 2009 each of these sites will receive updates and replacements so that the level of GRO index information mirrors the former arrangements at the FRC.

These arrangements are expected to continue until such time as GRO is able to implement the project which will deliver free, on-line access to the GRO indexes. This is unlikely to be before early 2010, but costs and timescales will need to be discussed with the Identity and Passport Service, to which GRO will transfer on 1 April this year."

28 January 2008
Roger Lewry
Archives Liaison Officer