Family History

Registration Offices (Register Offices) hold birth, marriage and death records since Civil Registration began in July 1837, up to the present day.  Record Offices are quite different, as they hold a very wide variety of records which have been deposited by individuals, institutions, societies and government departments.

Most Register Office records are not open to public inspection, although certified copies of the information in a birth, marriage or death entry can be purchased for £7.

People tracing their family history will usually wish to consult a number of different sources and will often purchase certificates to help them out when their research gets stuck (to get the next vital clue!), or to get biographical / medical detail on their ancestors.

Although Record Offices hold copies of church marriage registers, the birth, death and all marriage records after 1837 are only available through the Register Office (Registration Office) covering the district where the event occurred, or through their central office (the General Register Office).  Different access rules apply for stillbirth, adoption and civil partnership records, as well as overseas records - it is recommended to contact the General Register Office in the first instance in those cases.