Research

GRO Indexes


A guide to understanding GRO Indexes

Births, marriages and deaths
A General Register Office (GRO) Index reference number is the code allocated to every birth, marriage or death registered in England or Wales. Generally, it consists of the year, volume number, page number and district in which the event was registered.

If you order a certificate and provide a GRO Index reference this reduces the cost of your certificate. See Certificate fees.

The indexes are arranged in year order from when the event was registered.

From 1837 to 1984 the index information for each year is further divided into quarters. The quarters are split as follows:

  • March Quarter – events registered in January, February and March
  • June Quarter – events registered in April, May and June
  • September Quarter – events registered in July, August and September
  • December Quarter – events registered in October, November and December

After 1984 the indexes are organised by year only. In each quarter or year the entries are listed alphabetically by surname, and then by forename.

The earliest index is for the September quarter 1837.

For marriages, you can search the index using the surname of the married man or maiden surname of the married woman.

Other information held in the index after the name is:

  • mother’s maiden name from July 1911 (births only)
  • registration district
  • index reference

Index information varies depending on the type of event and the year it was registered. For further details please see Index information table (pdf, 131k), this table will tell you the information you should see recorded in the index for the year of the event that you are searching for.

Adoptions
A GRO index reference number is the code we allocate to every adoption registered in England and Wales. It relates to the register volume and entry number.

If you order a certificate and provide a GRO Index reference this reduces the cost of your certificate. See Certificate fees.

The earliest index starts from the year 1927. Index information varies depending on the year of the event. Entries are listed alphabetically by surname and then by forename.

Civil partnerships
The Civil Partnership Index for England and Wales starts from December 2005 and provides an alphabetical list by surname together with the surname of the partner, year of formation, registration authority and registration entry number.