You’ll need to register on the General Register Office (GRO) website to order a copy of a birth, adoption, death, marriage or civil partnership certificate in England and Wales. Certificates cost £9.25. You can use this service to help you research your family tree.

There’s a different process for getting copies of a certificate in:

• Scotland
• Northern Ireland

Births or deaths abroad

If you’ve registered a birth or death with the UK authorities that took place abroad, you’ll have to wait until September of the following year to get copies from the GRO.

If you need to get copies before this, contact the British embassy where you registered. You can also send details of your request with payment for birth or death certificates to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO).

Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Room K4.9
King Charles Street
London
SW1A 2AH