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3. Birth, marriage and death records – 1837-1983

Birth, marriage and death records (BMDs) recorded between 1837 and 1983 were kept in quarterly paper-based registers. Findmypast.com has scanned these registers and made the images available online. You will need to view the images to see whether they contain the name you’ve searched for. The 1837-1983 BMDs aren’t fully transcribed, so there’s no guarantee the name you’ve searched for will appear on all of the pages.  

Select the event (birth, marriage or death) from the drop-down menu, and enter the date and name you’d like to search for, then click ‘search’.

Your search results will look like this:

The birth, marriage, and death results show only the first and last names listed on the page. To see the indexes you must click ‘view’.

Clicking ‘view’ displays the birth, marriage or death index page (as above).

You can print and save birth, marriage and death images for your records.

A browse facility is also available. This is useful if your search covers a long period, or if you are checking multiple names. Select the year, quarter and surname initial as below:

Ordering certificates from the General Register Office (GRO)

You will need to order certificates from the General Register Office.

Once you’ve found the record you’re looking for click on the ‘order BMD certificates’ link at the top right-hand corner of the page:

On the page that follows you’ll find details on ordering certificates from the GRO. The information held in the birth, marriage and death indexes is all you’ll need to obtain a certificate; although for more recent registrations you may need to supply further information as a security precaution.

Additional information, such as a father’s name or mother’s maiden name, if known, can be used when you order a certificate to ensure it is for the correct person.

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