Federation Of Family History Societies

Civil Registration

 

The General Register Office (GRO) can provide birth, marriage and death certificates from its archive of records for England and Wales dating back to the start of civil registration in July 1837.

The Adopted Children Register is a record of all adoptions granted by courts in England and Wales since 1927. Adoption certificates can be obtained from the GRO.

A complete set of the GRO Indexes including Births, Deaths and Marriages from 1837 - 2006, Overseas from 1761 - 2006, Civil Partnerships from 2005 - 2007, Adoptions from 1927 - 2007 and the provisional indexes for Births and Deaths for 2007 is available at the following locations:

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

All the above locations will receive the GRO Indexes for more modern events as and when they become available.

Certificates can be ordered online. Alternatively, application forms for certificates can be requested by phone, by post, and by fax.

The GRO website can be accessed at www.gro.gov.uk. The telephone number is 0845 603 7788; the fax number is 01704 550013 and the postal address is Certificate Services Section, General Register Office, PO Box 2, Southport, PR8 2JD. Please include your full name and address, the type of application form you require, and the quantity. Please note - these forms must not be faxed or photocopied. The original form must be returned to the General Register Office.

Users at The National Archives in Kew have free access to the digitised births, marriages and deaths INDEXES through findmypast.com, the UK family history website. However, please note that it is NOT possible to order certificates at Kew.