Birth, marriage and death certificates are invaluable to genealogists. In Great Britain and Ireland, civil registration began in the 19th century:
- England – 1837
- Wales – 1837
- Ireland – 1864 (1845 for non-Catholic marriages)
- Scotland – 1855
Before those dates, we need to rely on parish records.
England and Wales
Birth, marriage or death certificates for England or Wales can be obtained from the General Register Office. Currently (July 2024) hard copies received through the post cost £12.50. You can save money by ordering a pdf for £7, or digital certificate for £3 for birth entries from 1837 up to 100 years ago, and death entries from 1837 to 1957. Note though that I’ve found some births and deaths within those dates don’t offer the digital certificate option. The digital image show an extract of the full certificate, with only the vital details and no column headings or signatures.
Northern Ireland
Certificates for birth, marriage and death from 1864 registered in Northern Ireland can be obtained from NIDirect for £15. Note that marriage certificates for non-Roman Catholic marriages are also available from 1845.
Civil records can also be viewed online on the Irish Genealogy website for free. This covers dates: births – 1864 to 1923; deaths – 1871 to 1973; marriage – 1845 (for non-Catholic, 1864 for Catholic) to 1948.
Scotland
In Scotland certificates can be views or ordered from the Scotland’s People website.
Births older than 100 years, marriages older than 75 years, and deaths older than 50 years can be viewed online for 6 credits, which is the equivalent of £1.50. Credits can either be purchased in advance, or you can pay per view. For events that are too recent to be viewed online, the certificates can be ordered from the website for £12.
Ireland
Certificates for events in Ireland from 1864 to the present can be ordered from the Irish Health Service Executive website. They cost €20 each, or €5 for an uncertified birth certificate.
As with Northern Ireland, civil records can also be viewed online on the Irish Genealogy website for free. This covers dates: births – 1864 to 1923; deaths – 1871 to 1973; marriage – 1845 (for non-Catholic, 1864 for Catholic) to 1948.