Promotional material

Family tree: guide to birth certificates

How to use the General Register Office to find birth certificates when researching your family tree and family history.

• From: HM Passport Office
• Published: 22 January 2016
• Last updated: 6 July 2023 — See all updates

Documents

Guide to birth certificates (accessible version)

HTML

Guide to birth certificates

PDF, 355 KB, 3 pages

Details

This guide explains:

• how to find your ancestors’ birth certificates
• how much it costs to order a birth certificate
• what information you’ll find on a birth certificate
• how to order birth certificates online, by phone and by post
• information about PDF records
• information about our online view digital image service

The guide also includes tips on what to do if you can’t find your ancestors in the General Register Office’s public index of every birth recorded in England and Wales since 1837.

Published 22 January 2016
Last updated 6 July 2023 + show all updates

1. 6 July 2023

   Updated to include the online view service.

2. 16 February 2019

   New guide to birth certificates leaflet.

3. 22 January 2016

   First published.