Genealogy Chat

I want to order a marriage cert but as the GRO have been SOOOOO slow lately I thought I'd order it from the local office (which I've heard people on here do) but how do I go about it? Do I just phone them up or do I need to write/email? any advice gratefully received. Caroline

I phoned mine in Hull. Try to give tham as much info as possible. On the other hand, I tried phoning the register office in Barnet. The first time I got a nice lady who was very helpful. The second time I got a man who must have taken lessons from Victor Meldrew. He told me he was far to busy and to ring the GRO. Jeanette

It all depends on which local office it is. Some in London won't supply certificates for family history so you have to go through the GRO. The local offices that do supply certificates will need the year and qtr. that the event took place as well as the name, although some helpful staff will look through a couple of years for you - just depends on the staff really. I have found that the man at Warminster in Wiltshire is very helpful.

You should check first if you have an online local county BMD. (Jeanette) The Yorkshire BMD site is making great progress and already has good coverage of Hull and Leeds. When you find your record it prints out an application form for the correct office. It only costs £7 plus plus SAE. The only downside is that some supply transcriptions not copies. Ask first. Searches are very quick compared to FreeBMD and the records are taken from the original entries so there are records that are not on GRO. Bob

I get mine by post and they have come by return so far...from Birmingham, Derby and Wolverhampton. I send details and possible GRO numbers and an SAE to whichever district is relevant....have found the phone number and address from my local records office so far, but someone has put up a good website. Maybe more difficult round London? Joan

For County Durham you can search on line and then order on line. Certificates come within 48 hours. Excellent service. Linda

I agree it depends on the record office. You can search the Cambridge Record Office BMD online and download a certificate from there. Norfolk are also quick to respond - possibly because they had no record for my gt grandfather's death! - and Surrey responded by return of post - they have e-mail but you need to send a cheque first. However - I strongly suspect that with so much interest in genealogy now the registrars will soon be swamped in the way the GRO is, so apply sooner rather than later!