Genealogy Chat

... as I do nine times out of ten, for a birth or death certificate

Edited - current cost is £9.25 from the GRO

I try to remember to say in the letter words to the effect of - the son / daughter of, or widow of, as appropriate ... ' and enclose my cheque for £7 and stamped addressed envelope. If you cannot trace the record as detailed, please return the cheque to me.' Goodness!! apart from giving a nudge now and then to my ongoing tips threads ie Irish, military etc, that's my first serious tip for while!... :-)

Joy do you mean the local register office or the GRO?

Yes - a scanned one is nicer to have. Local Register Office - very rarely do I apply to the GR0 ... :-) Just typing one now - for instance, standard sort of wording in my letter:- 'Superintendent Registrar The Register Office ........... etc Dear Sir / Madam I wish to obtain a copy of a death certificate which I believe is detailed in your registers: for John ....., husband of Mary, whose death was registered in ............ in the ........ quarter of .... . I enclose my cheque for £7. If you cannot trace the record as detailed, please return it to me. With grateful thanks, Yours faithfully Enc: cheque, SAE'

Hmm, lovely idea, but death certificates don't always give the wife's name, so I wonder what they will do in that case? Kate.

Kate To answer your question, if you put your phone number on the letter, very often they will phone you to check! I order most of my certs from local ROs (some have an on-line ordering facility) but quite often, if I am unsure, or have vague info, I send them an email first. I have never been charged for this and I can often rule out the wrong cert without paying for it. OC

I've always found the local ROs very helpful, and the certs come quicker than using the 'on-line' system. If I order more than one cert, I put in separate cheques, then if one doesn't refer, I get the cheque back. Also, on some occaisions it is at another RO, so they send on the request and the cheque to the appropriate RO. Anne

All the local register offices I've used have been helpful and prompt, but problems arise with London as many of their register offices don't supply certificates for genealogy purposes. nell

I emailed the Windsor registrar, to ask about finding a death cert, which wasn't listed on the GRO but I knew that the date and place of death. I was amazed when I got a reply saying that she had found it and asking for payment. That is service! Lynn

Joy, this is a really good tip. Thank you in particular for including your letter, as I am usually sending off for certs late at night when the brain has switched off, and I find that while I can fill in a form, actually having to think what to put in a letter is totally beyond me! Sad or what! Tina

The letter is great. Sounds dim but can I apply to a local registry office for any BMD if I know the details and avoid the GRO? Jennie

Yes, Nell, some London ones don't. It's as well to ring them to ask first. Thank you, Tina! ... :-) Jennie - if it is a birth or death registration, I always apply to the local register office. If it is a marriage one, I apply to the local register office if it is a sort of more rural area, ie High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire and Woodbridge in Suffolk have supplied them; definitely not if it is in London though for a marriage one, the superintendent registrar would not have time to do a search. Oh, and when applying to the local register office, they don't want to know the volume and page number that would be found in the GRO indexes - just the name, the district, the quarter and the year. Joy

Joy I always apply to the local registry office for Certs and have always had a very good service. On some occasions I have had telephone calls from them to ask further questions just to make sure they have found the right entry so include your phone number. I have found Hereford to be so quick they reply on the same day they recevie your request. Tower Hamlets for London is longer but still quicker than the GRO. I have also found that they return all your money if they cannot find the right person for you the GRO charge £3.00. I think there is a thread about the local offices I will try and find it to nudge it up as it is very informative. Gwen

Yes, Gwen, I always ask for my cheque to be returned, as you'll see in my standard letter. It is a good idea to include your telephone number, as you say, and I put my email address in the letter, too. I had one from Tower Hamlets recently, too ... :-) Strange that with the online ordering system with GRO (that I looked at recently and felt quite confused!!!), they charge money if you want to say for instance the wife of someone; yet, when I have been at the FRC in London and ordered there, there is no extra charge on the form.

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This info is too good to lose in the shuffle so thought I had better 'peg it' Thanks everyone ! Cheers Margaret X

I've never used local offices, only the GRO. Really useful thread thanks. What exactly is the difference in the certificates though. Isn't the GRO a scanned in copy? Thanks.

Tikal some may be, but for the periods most of us are looking at they are hand written transcriptions. They can thus have errors and ommisions. Many registrations are missing altogether from GRO. Where possible ALWAYS go to the local office first. Also ASK if they give a copy of the original register. Bob