Genealogy Chat

Merry, I haven't had that problem. I sent for a couple of birth certs to Newcastle. They phoned me to say one was relevant, and they had sent on my request and cheque to the other RO, who sent me the 2nd cert. That's why I always send a separate cheque for each cert. Anne

I used to use some local offices (who were all very helpful), but now all my relatives come from the ''wrong'' places, it's back to the GRO! I've said this before, but the only problem I've had with local offices is when they will not admit which office holds which register. Merry

I prefer local for the following reason. I sent off a request for my Uncle's birth cert to Lewis office. I gave all of the details as required including father's name etc. I got a phone call stating that they had found the entry but the father/mother name was different hence not my uncle. I had 2 choices. They would send the cert or return my cheque to me. This would mean that i would not pay anything for their searching. I asked them to tear the cheque up. The GRO charge approx £3 if the entry is not the correct one and then you have to tick the box stating that you do not want the cert if the details do not match. Alan

Some of the local offices have searchable BMD sites - and some of those tell you where a marriage took place (i.e. register office or which church). If you're not trying to prove a heritage you don't need to pay £7 for a cert - if you can get a copy of a register page for the price of a photo-copy. If you can't get to a Records Office or main library which carries the Parish Register films, you may have to pay for research time plus postage/packing. www.ukbmd.org.uk has a list of local BMD links - amongst lots of other useful links, very well organised. Christine

Thanks very much, Stacy, Heather and Glen. I have ordered my first batch from the GRO this evening but will be looking at local offices next time as it would be great to have scanned copies!

Hi Ann I'm going to bang the drum for local offices. The GRO are handy for all certs,but i prefer the local offices when i can.By local i mean local to the event,so a birth in Lincoln will be at the Lincoln office.Some London offices won't do family history certs. The certs cost the same as from thr GRO,most offices are quicker than the GRO,especially at times of high demand. As a bonus quite a few also scan the original copy of the register so you get to see the signature or mark of your rellies too,though some do handwrite the details onto a modern cert. I have a thread with maybe 50 offices listed,showing whether they scan,type or handwrite the cert. If you want some more info just send me a message or ask on here. Glen

Ann, you can buy them from the GRO online for £7 - never pay more on line, there are some sites charging for the same service up to £50. You will need the reference for the bmd - do you have that? You need to find the birth, marriage or death on freebmd or by going through the bmd index which is on ancestry or 1837 online.

i get mine from the gro, takes a couple of weeks others get them from the office they were registered cos it dosent take as long

Best place/method to buy certs on line please anyone???