Copy Certificates
The registration of births, marriages and deaths in England and Wales began on 1st July 1837. Scotland and Northern Ireland operate a different system.
Where to obtain a copy certificate
The county is separated into different registration districts and each has its own Superintendent Registrar, who has responsibility for the registers of births, deaths and marriages relating to that district. If you know the district in which the event that you are interested in took place then you can make any application through the contact centre who upon payment of the appropriate fee will forward your request on the Registrar in the relevant district. The certified copy of the register entry will then be posted to you.
Where to apply
Applications can be made by contacting the office coering he district where the event took place. Requests can be made over the telephone and payment made using credit/ debit cards. Alternatively, payment can be made by post or in person.
If you do not know the date of the event
If you do not know the date of the event then you can make an application to GRO (Certificate Services) for a general search ont he national database, or a 5 year search can be made at the Register Office covering the district where the birth took place.
If you do not know the district in which the event occurred
If you do not know the district in which the event occurred you can make an application to the General Register Office in Southport General Register Office (GRO) as they hold records of all births, deaths and marriages that have taken place in England and Wales from 1837 to the present date. If you are able to visit London, the Family Records Centre at 1 Myddleton Street has the indexes available for public searches for the whole of England and Wales. Further details about obtaining certificates and undertaking searches can be obtained from their website FamilyRecords.gov.uk Home Page
Marriage Certificate Request Form
Death Certificate Request Form
Birth Certificate Request Form
If the event took place outside Staffordshire
If the event took place outside Staffordshire, then you will need contact a Registration Office in that County. For further contact details of Registration Offices Nationally, please contact Registration Services.
I was adopted, can I still obtain a copy certificate from a Registration Office?
If you were adopted then you must contact the General Register Office in Southport General Register Office (GRO) as they hold records of all births, deaths and marriages that have taken place in England and Wales from 1837 to the present date.
If the event took place before 1837
Events that took place prior to 1837 are not held by Registration Services. These records are often in the form of church baptism, marriage and burial records and these are usually in the custody of the local archive service. Details about the Staffordshire Archives Service can be found by using the link provided.
Location of Copy Certificates in Staffordshire.
There are a number of Registration Service buildings in Staffordshire. Some buildings are inappropriate to store past certificates. A building like this will send their completed Registered to another office where they will be stored securely. For more information about where your Certificate might be obtained from, please contact Registration Services.
Last Modified:
27/06/2007 13:43:17
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