Genealogy Section
Certificate Enquiry
You can use our Online register search to find Birth, Death and Marriage records and request certificates. However not all our records are searchable.
If you cannot find the record you're looking for or if wish to make an enquiry please use the following instructions:
To request a certificate from a Birth or Death register you need to provide:
- Where and when the birth or death occurred
- Full name of the person
Further supporting information eg in a birth, parents' names, and in a death age at death and occupation. This enables the Registrars to make a correct identification where there are two or more possible entries for the same name.
To request a certificate from a Marriage register you need to provide:
- Name of the church, chapel or register office
- Date of the wedding
- Name of one or both parties who were married
Remember that, where a church or chapel has its own marriage register it is only deposited with the Register Office after it has been completed which can take many years. Otherwise, you will need to contact the person responsible for the registers at the appropriate church or chapel to obtain a copy.
Payment
Certificates are available at a cost of £7.00 each for marriage, death and full birth certificates, or £5.50 for a short birth certificate. Requests made within 3 months of Registration are £3.50.
We will not issue a certificate until we have contacted you to confirm your order and the method of payment.
Requests should be made to the Register Office.
Other Sources of Help:
If you are not sure where a particular person was born, married or died, you will need to use the national indexes which are available in the:
Family Records Centre (National Public Records Office)
1 Myddleton Street
London EC1R 1UW
Tel: 0181 392 5300
Microfilm copies of the indexes are available locally in South Shields, Newcastle upon Tyne and Sunderland.
Postal requests for certificates can be made to:
General Register Office
PO Box 2
Southport
Merseyside PR8 2JD
Tel: 0151 471 4800
Some of the most important documents can be located at the local Record Office. These could be census returns, baptism, burial and marriage registers or workhouse records to name but a few.
The 1881 census is widely available to purchase from software suppliers on CD ROM which provides the entire census for that year for England and Wales in an easy to use format. Online access to the 1901 census for a small fee is now available.
