England Civil Registration

Civil registration is the government recording of births, marriages, and deaths. Civil registration records are excellent sources of names, dates, and places of births, marriages, and deaths. Because they are indexed and cover most of the population, English civil registration records are important sources for genealogical research. Learn more about using these records for family history by clicking here.

General Historical Background

Before 1837 only churches recorded birth, marriage, and death information in England (see the "Church Records" section of this outline). In the early 1800s, Parliament recognized the need for accurate records for voting, planning, and defense purposes. Legislation was passed to create civil registration of births, marriages, and deaths for England and Wales, which began on 1 July 1837.

The jurisdictional basis of civil registration is the registration district. Each county is divided into districts. Each district has a superintendent registrar. He (or she) registers the births and deaths reported by informants.

An officiating minister or other responsible official registers marriages:

• Copies of marriages performed by Church of England ministers are sent quarterly to the district office and the original marriage registers are kept at the parish church. 
• Quaker and Jewish marriages are registered by their own representatives directly with the Office for National Statistics (formerly Registrar General). 
• Superintendent registrars may register marriages at their offices.

Each quarter superintendent registrars forward copies of their district’s registrations to the Office for National Statistics in London. The original birth and death records (and those marriages recorded by the registrar) remain in the district.

Beginning in July 1837 all births and deaths were to be reported to the registrar. An estimated 90 to 95 percent of births and nearly all deaths and marriages were reported. However, until 1874 no penalty was imposed for failure to register. By 1875, 99 percent of all births, marriages, and deaths were being recorded.

If you cannot find a civil birth, marriage, or death certificate, search church records. A church record may verify known details or give additional information.

Information Recorded in Civil Registers

Births

Birth certificates usually give the child’s name, sex, birth date, and birthplace; the parents’ names, including the mother’s maiden name; the father’s occupation; and the informant’s signature, residence, and description (often relationship).

The father, mother, neighbor, or other person present at the birth must register a birth within 42 days.

Marriages

Marriage certificates give the marriage date, place, and denomination (if a church marriage); the names of the bride and groom, whether they were single or widowed, and their ages, occupations, and residences at the time of marriage; the names and occupations of their fathers (and often whether they were deceased); and the signatures of the bride, groom, and witnesses.

The law required all marriages to be recorded in a civil register immediately after the ceremony. Marriages were often performed at the bride’s parish.

Divorces

Divorce records contain information on family members, their marital history (including marriage date and place), property, residences, and sometimes dates of events such as children’s births.

Divorce required an act of Parliament until 1857 and was uncommon before the mid-20th century. Records of parliamentary divorce acts are at:

House of Lords Library
London, SW1A 0PW
England
Telephone: 020 7219 3120
Fax: 020 7219 6156
E-mail: lawlords@parliament.uk
Internet: http://www.parliament.uk/judicial_work/judicial_work.cfm

Civil divorce registration began in 1858. These divorce records are confidential for 75 years. Records older than 75 years can be consulted at the National Archives in London.  Indexes for 1858 to 1937 are available.

Relatives of divorced persons may obtain information on divorces that occurred in the last 75 years by contacting:

Divorce Registry of the Family Division
Somerset House, Strand
London W.C. 2
England
Internet: http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/infoabout/family/index.htm

To learn more about divorce records, visit the following Web sites.

• www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/RdLeaflet.asp?sLeafletID=260 (before 1858)

• www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/RdLeaflet.asp?sLeafletID=53 (after 1858)

• www.findmypast.com/helpadvice/knowledge-base/wills-divorces/#divorce

• www.genealogy.about.com/cs/vitaluk/index.htm

The Family History Library has:

1. Indexes to divorce and matrimonial causes files from the Court for Divorce and Matrimonial causes and Supreme Court of Judicature, High Court of Justice, Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division, Principal Probate Registry, 1858-1958.

2.Index to divorces (as listed in Palmer's Indexes to "The Times" newspaper, London) 1788-1910.

Deaths

Civil registration death records can provide the following useful identifying factors for finding and tracing an ancestor - especially in cases when the surname is very common:

• age
• date
• signature
• occupation
• relationship
• cause of death
• name of the deceased
• a child parent’s name
• residence of the informant
• name of a spouse (who may be the Informant)
• approximate year of birth (age-deduced at time of death)
• place of residence (useful in determining correct ancestor when searching other records, i.e. census)

The information may be:

• Limited or inaccurate because it is based on the informant’s knowledge.
• Incorrect person due to difficulties in identifying the correct index entry.
• Helpful for those looking for clues about persons born or married before July 1837.

Stillbirths and Adoptions

No provision was made for registering stillbirths until 1874, when a new law required a death certificate before burying stillborn children. Since 1927 all stillbirths (any birth where the child never took a breath) are recorded in the Register of Stillbirths, which is not available to the public.

Civil registration adoption certificates began in 1927, giving the child’s new name, birth date, court, entry date and reference number, and district and subdistrict of birth as well as the adoptive parents’ names, addresses, and occupation(s). Adoption records may be consulted only by arrangement with the Office for National Statistics.

Pre-1927 adoption records are kept by the agency or institution which handled the adoption and are very difficult to locate. Many may no longer exist. For more information, see:

• Stafford, Georgina. Where to Find Adoption Records: A Guide for Counsellors. London, England: British Agencies for Adoption and Fostering, 1993. (Family History Library book Ref 942 D27sgw.)

British Persons Christened, Married or Buried Abroad

For information on British persons abroad, click here.

Locating Civil Registration Records

Civil registration records are kept at the superintendent registrar’s district office. Duplicates are kept at the Office for National Statistics (formerly Registrar General).

Ordering Certificates

Civil registration certificates are closed to the public. The only way to obtain one is to order a copy from the Register General Office for England and Wales. You may order through the Internet, mail or FAX. For more information, see their Web site at:

• http://www.gro.gov.uk

Order by phone:

Using Visa, Visa Electron, Mastercard, Solo, Delta or Maestro, call +44 (0)845 603 7788 and have your details to hand.

Our lines are open: Monday to Friday 8am – 8pm (excluding Bank Holidays) Saturday 9am – 4pm Please also have your credit or debit card ready.

Order by mail:

GRO PO Box 2 Southport Merseyside PR8 2JD

Fax - 44(0) 1704 550 013

When requesting a certificate by mail, send the following:

• A check or money order for the search fee (the amount varies)
• The full name and sex of the person sought
• The names of the parents, if known
• An approximate date and place of the event

Certificates from the Office for National Statistics are less expensive if you supply index reference numbers.

Order through the Internet

Go here to learn how to order a certificate through the Internet.

Superintendent Registrars

If you know the registration district, you may wish to order a certificate from the superintendent registrar, since search policies are often more liberal and mail order requests less expensive than through the Office for National Statistics (formerly Registrar General). The Office for National Statistics’ index reference numbers do not help the superintendent registrar locate records in his or her district. Registrars usually will not search marriage records because marriage registration procedures are so complex.

Addresses for superintendent registrars’ are found in:

• The Official List of Registration Offices. London, England: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1993. (FHL book Q 942 X4g 1993.)
• District Register Offices in England and Wales. Fourth Edition. Yorkshire, England: East Yorkshire Family History Society, 1989. (Family History Library book 942 E4ew 1989.)

Addresses for the superintendent registrars can also be found on the Internet through the GENUKI Web site at:

• http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/RegOffice/  

Keep in mind that over time district boundaries have changed, and some districts have been abolished.

Indexes to Civil Registration Records

Indexes can help you find an entry for your ancestor. The Office for National Statistics (formerly Registrar General) creates nationwide indexes after receiving quarterly returns.

Content

These indexes are arranged by calendar quarter and give name, registration district, volume, and page number. Later indexes include the following:

• Age at death (post-1865 death indexes)
• Mother’s maiden name (post-June 1911 birth indexes)
• Spouse’s surname (post-1911 marriage indexes)
• Birth date (post-March 1969 death indexes)

With the index reference you can send for the certificate (see above).

Search Tips

If you cannot locate an index entry, consider the following reasons:

• Surnames are often found under unexpected spellings.

• Events are filed by the date registered, not the date they occurred (for example, a birth on 20 March which was registered on 6 April will be in the April-June quarter).

• Indexes were prepared by hand and may contain copying errors (for example, "T" for "F") or omissions.

• A person may have been registered under a different name than he or she used later in life.

• Some marriages were indexed by the name of only one spouse.

• A woman’s surname in the marriage index may be her surname from a previous marriage.

• Family information (particularly age at death) is often misleading.

• Persons with common names may be difficult to identify in the index.

• Some deaths were registered as "unknown."

• A child born before the parents’ marriage may be registered under the mother’s maiden name.

• Some children were registered as "male" or "female" if a name had not been selected before registration.

Knowing the district name and at least an approximate year in which the birth, marriage, or death occurred will reduce your search time.

Registration Districts

Places in the index are registration districts, which are usually not the same as the actual place of birth. In rural areas many villages and parishes are included in one district. Large cities have many districts.

The following sources will help identify the district that served the place where your ancestors lived:

The Imperial Gazetteer, included on the Vision of Britain web site, gives parishes and their civil districts. (See England Gazetteers.)

Population Tables are available for each census year. They give the population for the various localities and are arranged by county, district, and parish. The indexes to these tables are very helpful because they give the district for each place listed. District boundaries changed over time, so it is helpful to refer to these indexes. The Family History Library call numbers for the indexes are as follows:

• 1841 FHL 942 X22ip 1841; fiche 6036965
• 1851 FHL 942 X22ip 1851; fiche 6036964
• 1861 FHL 942 X22ip 1861; fiche 6036966
• 1871 FHL 942 X22ip 1871; fiche 6036967
• 1881 FHL 942 X22ip 1881; fiche 6036968
• 1891 FHL 942 X22ip 1891; fiche 6036969
• 1951 FHLQ 942 X2i 1951; films 410102–3
• 1961 FHL Q 942 X2p 1961; film 990257
• 1971 FHL Q 942 X2p 1971; not filmed

The following work contains nineteenth century maps and lists of districts:

• A Guide to the Arrangement of the Registration Districts Listed in the Indexes to the Civil Registration of England and Wales. Second Edition. Salt Lake City, Utah, USA: Family History Library, 1977. (Family History Library book 942 V2icr 1977; film 990269 items 4–5; fiche 6020287)

The Family History Library has copies of the indexes. Go to the Family History Library Catalog to find the film of fiche numbers for each year of birth, death or marriage.

1. Go to the library catalog.
2. Click Place Search.
3. Type England and click Search.
4. Click England in the list of results.
5. Click the topic of Civil Registration-Indexes.
6. Click one of the following titles:
   1. Index to the civil registration of births, marriages and deaths for England and Wales, 1837-1980. This set is on microfilm.
   2. Index to the civil registration of births, marriages and deaths for England and Wales, 1837-1983. This set is on microfiche.
7. Click View Film Notes to see the film and fiche numbers.

Online Index to England and Wales Civil Registration

Civil registration started in July 1837, and a manuscript index of names was created to help locate a specific certificate. Arranged quarterly and  alphabetically, these indexes may be accessed at family history centers, at The National Archives UK and a limited number of other repositories worldwide. In recent years volunteers began transcribing and adding the data from the manuscript indexes into a centralized index. Two sites with online civil registration indexes to births, marriages and deaths for England and Wales are located at the following websites:

1. FreeBMD - Search features include:

• Name
• Date the event was registered
• Name of the district and county
• Date range
• Names of parents or spouse

The results show the following for each individual. This is the information you need if you want to order a copy of a certificate from the Office for National Statistics for England.

• Type of event (birth, marriage, or death)
• Name of the individual
• Year and quarter of the year when registered. Only the last month of a quarter is given: March, June, September, and December.
• Name of the district where the event was registered. A district is a geographic area that was responsible to register the event.
• Volume and page number

Since this is an ongoing project, you may want to know what years have already been added to the site. A set of graphs on the site shows which years have already been indexed. To link from the Home Page, click Information, click Statistics, and click Coverage Charts. It is also possible to report transcription errors and add "Postem" notes if you locate an entry which is incorrect or that you have more information about.

You should bear in mind the way in which national indexes were compiled from 1837 onward. The quarterly returns sent were manually arranged in alphabetical order and the index compiled was manually written by clerks. It is not surprising then that with no check on errors possible that the indexes contain incomplete or inaccurate entries. Where manual entires were replaced by typed indexes the typing introduces potential for further error. If you cannot locate an entry it is sensible to go to the primary source of registration in the local Registration District.

2. UKBMD website - Click on and enter the county desired to determine whether a county has a local bmd index project as not all counties are currently in the process of indexing the civil registration indexes to births, marriages, and deaths.

The following counties (as of 1 November 2007) have an online indexing project for BMDs currently underway: Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, Durham, Hampshire, Kent, Lancashire, Northumberland, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Wiltshire, and Yorkshire. The Lancashire project is one of the largest and most complete. Most county-wide indexes go up to the year 1950 and all are an on-going project and are incomplete. Keep checking back for updated, new information. You can subscribe for online update information by email from the county extraction directors. Search features include:

• Name
• Date the event was registered
• Name of the district and county
• Date range
• Names of parents or spouse

The results show the following for each individual. This is the information you need if you want to order a copy of a certificate from the local registry office in England.

• Type of event (birth, marriage, or death)
• Name of the individual.
• Year when event registered.
• Name of the region. The name of the local BMD project area
• Name of the place where the event was registered. For births and deaths this is the district name, a district is a geographic area that was responsible to register the event. For marriages the name of the church or register office is given.
• Name of the register office that now holds the registers. This is the office to which applications should be made for copy certificates.
• Reference number. The unique reference number required to order a certificate from the local register office.

The registers in local Registration Districts in both England and Wales are the primary registration information of births marriages and deaths. Research has shown that the national index contains many errors and omissions. The indexation of primary records is based on year of event unlike the national index which is compiled from quarterly returns and is therefore more likely to locate the event you seek.

3. The Genealogist website has indexed and posted online most of the births, marriages and deaths throughout the country. The indexes provide the same information as listed above.

Records at the Family History Library

The Family History Library has microfilm copies of the civil registration indexes of all births, marriages, and deaths for England and Wales from 1837 through 1980. A microfiche copy of the indexes covering 1837–1983 is also available. The library does not have any actual civil registration certificates. However, the library may have the church baptism, marriage, or burial records for the same time period.

Indexes with their microfilm and microfiche numbers are listed in the Place Search of the Family History Library Catalog under:

ENGLAND - CIVIL REGISTRATION - INDEXES

They are also listed in the following book:

• England and Wales Civil Registration Indexes on Microfiche and Microfilm. Salt Lake City, Utah: Family History Library, 1997. (Family History Library book 942 V2ic 1997).

Online Training from the Family History Library for British Civil Registrations

The Church’s Family History Library has been providing classes to patrons for many years.  In the past, a patron would have to travel to the Library to take advantage of these classes, but no longer. The Library will begin testing different methods of exporting these classes to patrons who reside outside of the Salt Lake City area. The first method to be tested is a set of five lessons in a classroom setting in a video format. These lessons are now available on www.familysearch.org and cover the basics of getting started with family history research in England. Go to FamilySearch and select Education under the Family History Library menu. The five lessons are called:

Family History Research Series Online

Lesson 1: Research Overview

Lesson 2: Census Records

Lesson 3: Civil Registration

Lesson 4: Church Records

Lesson 5: Find Your Ancestors

Family History Library (FHL); now called, FamilySearch Library (FSL)