Research
Introduction: A quick guide to research
The General Register Office can provide you with birth, marriage and death certificates for your research from our extensive archive of records dating back to the start of civil registration in July 1837.
These certificates provide vital clues and pointers for your family history research.
Each certificate holds names of, and information about, family members that can lead to the next stage of your investigations.
Certificates can be ordered from the General Register Office of events registered anywhere in England or Wales between 1837 and 18 months prior to the present date.
Orders can be made online, by post, phone or fax. alternatively you can apply to the register office where the event was registered. For more details see Ordering certificates.
If you are looking for records in Scotland or Northern Ireland, see Other General Register Offices for their contact information.
For an overseas record, see Searching for overseas records. Please be aware that our records are not exhaustive for events that happen to British subjects overseas, as we are not automatically notified.
