Tag: Birth Marriage and Death Certificates

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AT LAST! The General Register Office (England & Wales) makes digital image download of birth and death records available

NEWS: It seems to have been a long time coming! Digital downloads from GRO

 

image of the GRO website

The General Register Office (GRO) for England and Wales has just announced that family history researchers can now get instant-access images of birth records from 1837-1922 and deaths from 1837-1887.

Civil birth and death registration records from selected years are now available as instant-access digital images via the GRO’s website at: https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/login.asp

Civil registration in this part of the UK began in 1837 for Births, Marriages and Deaths (BMDs) and until now researchers could not get an instant-access digital image.

Family history researchers have previously had to make do with ordering records as either a print record for £11, or as a PDF for £7. At this price you would need the GRO index references and then have a wait of up to four working days for orders to be despatched.

However, the GRO has now launched a scheme for births from 1837 to 1922 and deaths from 1837 to 1887 to be available as digital images (JPEGS). The online service is the cheapest and simplest way of placing an order but you do still need to order with the GRO index reference number. Their website says that it takes around 10 minutes and you’ll need a debit or credit card and the JPEG cost £2.50.

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General Register Office prices rise in February 2019

For family history researchers, as in every other field, price rises are inevitable even if unwelcome when on a tight budget. I have always recommended in my course that researchers buy the relevant birth, marriage or death certificate and continue to do so. This is because these copy documents help to make sure that researcher get access to the important information contained on them and to be as sure as we can be that we are adding the correct person into our family tree. Even with the increase in certificate prices that The General Register Office (GRO) has announced, I still stand by that advice.

To be fair, to this government department, this is the first increase in certificate costs since 2010 and so it may be said that it is only to be expected.

 

Copy wedding certificate arrives in post

 

From the 16th February 2019 we now know that the cost of print certificates will increase from £9.25 to £11, and from £23.40 to £35 for the priority service, which provides delivery on the next working day. The same costs will also apply if family history researchers order the certificate from their local register office.

In October 2017 the GRO had introduced a pilot scheme which allowed researchers to order PDF copies of the digitised birth and death records for £6 each. This scheme was a success and after an estimated 79,600 PDF orders rolled in to the GRO in three months, they extended the scheme indefinitely.

The cost of PDF records will also see a rise this February as they now increase to £7 each, with priority deliveries available at £45.

A new charge is also being introduced for researchers who make an application to the GRO for a certificate copy without knowing the index reference. While this has not been charged for to date, there will now be an additional non-refundable fee of £3 in exchange for GRO staff carrying out a search of the index.  Also the GRO will require a fee of £3.50 where they cannot fulfil an order because the staff cannot locate the record with the information provided by the researcher.

Ancestor's wedding certificate

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