Key facts

• These documents record births, marriages and deaths, giving details of parents, ages/dates of birth and other key information

• They were first issued in 1837 and continue to the present day - before 1837 you will need to use parish registers

• They can not be found in local record offices - copies must be requested from local register office or the General Register Office (opens in a new window)

• To order the certificates you will need to use the GRO index (or GROI) - this can be found on the Ancestry website (or for Dorset only, we have the index on microfiche for 1837-1992)

• The GROI covers the whole of England and Wales so, unlike using parish registers, you don't need to know the specific town, village or city where a birth, marriage or death took place

What are they?

The civil registration of births, marriages and deaths, from which we get birth, marriage and death certificates, began in England and Wales on 1 July 1837 (1855 in Scotland). A certificate is simply a copy of the information registered with the General Register Office.

The General Register Office was, and continues to be, informed of all births, marriages and deaths.

The GRO Index (GROI)

The General Register Office produces an index, known as the GROI, of all births, marriages and deaths registered with it:

The information contained in the indexes allows you to order a copy certificate of the relevant event. There are several ways in which you can order a certificate:

• By post from the General Register Office in Merseyside
• On the internet (opens in a new window)
• From the relevant local register office

Certificates currently cost £7.00, although the price does depend upon the level of information given. The GRO and local registrars will charge more if you do not give precise details (i.e. the reference number from the GROI, or full details of individuals on the certificate). Using certificates as a source can be very helpful but it can also be a very expensive way of tracing your relatives. Use the certificates in conjunction with other sources such as parish registers and census enumerator's returns.

You can access the indexes at the following locations:

• The Dorset History Centre has copies of the indexes for 1837-1992 on microfiche
• Other record offices and libraries across the country will also have copies
• FreeBMD website at http://freebmd.rootsweb.com. This aims to transcribe all the indexes from 1837-1902. Volunteers do most of the work so the process is not complete and is increasing all the time. You can search the indexes by name, date, registration district and county.
• Ancestry website, which you can access for free at any Dorset library and at the History Centre

What information do the indexes provide?

The indexes will provide you with a reference number, name, the quarter and year. With this information you can order a copy certificate from the GRO.

However, these references will mean nothing to the local Register Offices so you will need to give the full name, quarter and, for marriages, the exact place e.g. church where the marriage took place. The information from the index is limited to just the name, registration district and reference number.

Births

For births the mother's maiden name was also added after September 1911. This is especially helpful if you are looking for a common name as it allows you to narrow down the list of potential entries. If you do not find the entry in the quarter in which you think the birth took place it is worth checking the following quarter as registration could take place up to a month after the birth of the child.

Marriages

For marriages you will find an index entry for each spouse. Until September 1912 the information given only included name and district. This means that you have to search for the other party in the marriage (if known) and check that they both have the same reference number. After September 1912 the surname of the other party is included. This allows you to double-check straightaway.

Deaths

The indexes for deaths are similar to those for births and marriages. The information given is name, district in which the person died (not necessarily the same district in which they lived or were buried) and after 1866, the age of the person when they died.

After 1969 the date of birth was given instead of the age at death. You must be careful when using either the date of birth or the age at death as the informant of the death may not have known the correct details. As with the birth and marriage indexes you may have to search the following quarter to find the relevant entry.

What information do the certificates provide?

Birth Certificates

• Date of birth
• Full name of child
• Parent's name including maiden name
• Address of the parents
• Occupation of the father

This information can help you locate the marriage certificate of the parents. A note of caution – the parents did not have to show any evidence of their marriage before registering their child, so even if a maiden name is given it is not proof that a marriage actually took place.

It is also worth remembering that it was only in 1875 with the introduction of the Births and Deaths Act that fines were imposed for non-registration and penalties for late registration. Before that many births were not registered as people were unaware of the requirement to register or they believed that a baptism was a legal alternative. It is always worth checking the relevant baptism registers if you cannot find a birth certificate.

Marriage Certificates

• Names of the couple
• Their ages
• Their occupations
• Their residences
• Names and occupations of their fathers

You could then work backwards to find the birth certificates for each party. A word of warning regarding ages – as with birth certificates there were no checks made. Either party could give an inaccurate age. In some cases the age is only given as 'full' or 'minor'. A 'Minor' was anyone under 21 years of age.

Death Certificates

For early certificates the cause of death is often unreliable. The informant was often a family member so it may provide you with details of other branches of the family.

Next step ...

The next step in our family history guide looks at parish registers.