Civil registration
The registration of key life events such as birth, death, stillbirth, adoption, marriage and civil partnership is a legal requirement.
Civil registration on Directgov
You can discover more about how to register a life event on Directgov.
Find out how to order birth, marriage, death, civil partnership, stillbirth or adoption certificates online, by post or telephone through the General Register Office or from the relevant local authority.
Birth, marriage and death records
Registrations are an integral part of identity documentation, providing a certificate to support further personal applications, for example, for passports and driving licences.
You can order certificates online using the GRO certificate ordering service.
We deal with over 2 million applications for certificates a year. The General Register Office (GRO) administers this registration process throughout England and Wales, working in partnership with local authorities. Local registrars are responsible for keeping us updated with all events registered at district level. We maintain a national archive of all births, marriages and deaths dating back to 1837, as well as adoptions from 1927 and civil partnerships from 2005.
Guidance
GRO provides guidance on registration matters, including changes and corrections, and overseas events, to the public, registrars, authorised persons, local authorities, ministers, MPs and government officials.
We may also be able to help you if you are an adopted person looking to find your birth relatives, or a relative who wants to make contact with an adopted person.
Publications
Internet links
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- Registering births, adoptions, deaths and marriages
- Order a certificate online direct from GRO
- Researching family history
We are not responsible for the content of external websites.