Certified Copies

This is maybe a very basic question, but as I have always got my certificate
copies from the GRO I don't know.

Is there any difference between a certified BMD certificate copy obtained
from the GRO and one obtained from the relevant registry office? Getting one
from the issuing registry office seems more complicated and slightly more
expensive - so is it worth it?

hedleyh...

I've always worked the other way round. GRO records are copies of the
records at the local Register (not registry) Office so that introduces
the possibility of a copying error. Also the Register Office used to
be cheaper than the GRO but I think now the costs are the same.

I have only used the GRO for cases which could not be found by the local
office, or for marriages in a large registration district when I didn't
know the actual parish.

Frank Erskine...

I've never had any problem with that. If you give them a day or two,
my local register office have searched all their registers, even a
year or two either side of my quoted date, with no extra charge.

Charani...

Islington Register Office will do a 5 year search around a given date
at no charge.

I understand that some of the busier local offices no longer supply copies
for genealogical purposes, but the ones which I have used have always been
most co-operative, even phoning me if there was a problem.

David J...

Just to clear up a detail for me here, as I have used the GRO for
certificates many times but never a local Register Office.

Can you use the GRO Index reference details wnen ordering certificates
from a Register Office?

Charles Ellson...

Not in England Wales. The indexing systems in the GRO and the local
registers do not generally match (although ISTR the entry numbers
might in recent registrations).

hedleyh...

No, the volume and page number mean nothing to a local office.

If not, what information is required?

Charles Ellson...

You can quote the GRO details so that they can compare the
registration district for correctness (in case the registers for part
of a re-arranged area might be somewhere else or you have managed to
apply to a totally wrong office because of coincident placenames) but
the core identifying details are name(s), date(s) and place(s) of the
event; with places make sure (if possible) that distinction is made
between alleged addresses (as in e.g. BMD notices), known residences
or the actual place of the event, this helps to cut down on the number
of registers to be checked. With church weddings it is often safer to
apply to the GRO unless a local registrar is able to definitely
confirm that they have a copy of the registration.

hedleyh...

Registration District, name, date, and place (the church, for a
wedding). Other details such as parents names for a birth, will
help to ensure you don't waste money on the wrong certificate.

David

Charles Ellson...

Each one comes from a different register. Both registers should
contain the same information but (at least in previous times) being
produced by hand the occasional error might have escaped scrutiny in
either register. There are also IIRC occasionally notes in a local
register which might not appear on the GRO copy which might or might
not be transcribed to an extract; this occurs commonly in Scotland
with notes regarding vaccination where the entry will occasionally be
"died before vaccination" but AFAIR extra notes are somewhat rarer in
English registers.

Ron O'Brien...

The biggest difference is 20 days! ie you usually have to wait 24 days on

Astral Voyager...

The GRO website is currently claiming a 6 working day turnaround - if you
supply the GRO reference. I could live with that if they are managing it.

Charani...

Yes, they are judging by the arrival four that I ordered last week.

What I was originally looking to discover was if, say for a marriage, you
would get a copy of the original certificate as was issued to the couple at
the time or just a version of the entry that was forwarded to the GRO. I'm

Peter Goodey...

I thought that had been covered. It's the latter.

still not sure I have found that out so will try applying to a RO to see if
what comes back seems worth the extra hassle.

Peter Goodey...

What you get from a local office depends on local practice. If you have a
particular reason for wanting original signatures, the most reliable
source would seem to be the CRO if the register has been deposited.

average to get a cert from the GRO, whereas in my experience of dealing with
the Liverpool, Chester, Cardiff, West Yorkshire, Tower Hamlets and Bristol
registry ofices, is they usually supply by return.

Also... I ordered one birth cert from Liverpool and someone rang me at
lunchtime on a SUNDAY to check against a choice of two
possibilities....which is another point....the local registry office dosent
want the GRO index reference, you just send them as much info as you know
and they find the person -because they do it that way they are more likely
to find the right person and if you include a phone number then they will
contact you if they are unsure which applies.

My opinion is never to use the GRO unless you have plenty of time on your
hands