Order a copy of a birth, death or marriage certificate
You need to register on the General Register Office (GRO) website to order a copy of a birth, adoption, death, marriage or civil partnership certificate in England and Wales.
Certificates cost £9.25.
You can use this service to help you research your family tree.
Start now on the General Register Office ordering service
There’s a different process for getting copies of a certificate in:
Registration of births or deaths abroad
If you’ve registered a birth or death with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Overseas Registration Unit, you can’t get a copy from the GRO until November of the following year.
If you need a copy sooner, email the name of the registered person, the registration date and reference number to:
- birthregistrationapplications@fco.gov.uk for birth registrations
- deathregistrationapplications@fco.gov.uk for death registrations
You’ll get a reply telling you how to get your copy and what it will cost - usually £50 plus courier fees.
You can’t use this service to find out about births, deaths or marriages that took place in the UK.
- Takes around 10 minutes
- Debit or credit card required
Priority service
A priority service is available for £23.40. Your certificate will be sent the next working day by first class post if you order by 4pm.
Phone the GRO to arrange special delivery.
General Register Office
Telephone: 0300 123 1837
Text relay: 18001 0300 123 1837
Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm
Saturday, 9am to 4pm
Find out about call charges
Post
You can order certificates by post.
Fill in the relevant GRO certificate application, and send it to the address on the form.
Register offices
You can also order certificates from the local register office where the birth, death or marriage was registered.