How to Apply for a Copy Birth, Death or Marriage Certificate
Which certificates can I obtain from Warwickshire Register Offices?
Warwickshire Registration Service holds records for all births, deaths and marriages which have taken place in Warwickshire since 1st July 1837.
(Please note that we do not hold records for births, deaths and marriages which have taken place in the neighbouring city of Coventry or in parts of Birmingham or Solihull which were once in Warwickshire but are now located within their city/district borders).
Copy certificates produced by Register Offices are official watermarked certificates, countersigned by a Superintendent Registrar and are not photocopies. All certificates purchased from Register Offices are Crown Copyright and may not be photocopied. Official bodies requiring sight of a birth, death or marriage certificate will not accept photocopies.
Where do I get a copy certificate from?
Details of births, deaths and marriages were always recorded locally by the registrar for the District at the time of the event, so you need to apply to the Register Office which holds the register in which the event was recorded.
Nuneaton Register Office holds registers for events recorded in Warwickshire North
Rugby Register Office holds registers for events recorded in Warwickshire East
Warwick Register Office holds registers for events recorded in Warwickshire South.
Please note that other Register offices in Warwickshire do not issue birth, death or marriage certificates other than those relating to events which have been registered very recently at that office.
If you wish to find out whether the record you require is at Nuneaton, Rugby or Warwick please telephone them directly. Warwickshire registration staff will be pleased to advise you. This is particularly important if you are applying for a marriage certificate as some churches still hold and use the original registers.
How do I apply for a certificate and what information will I need to provide?
1) Online. This option is available for some certificates which have had their details entered onto the new on-line payment system. Not all of our register entries are yet on the online index, but we are adding new records daily. The number of records currently on the on-line indexes is:
Births 521,475
Deaths 71,790
Marriages 253,900
Please click here to find out if the certificate you require is available on-line and to take advantage of this service. It is also possible to print an application form to send by post.
2) By post Complete and return the appropriate application form:
Postal application form for copy birth certificate
Postal application form for copy marriage certificate
Postal application for copy death certificate
You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open these files.
or
3) Write to the appropriate Register Office selected from the list above and give the following information (please ensure that you enclose your contact details, e.g. postal address/contact telephone number).
for a Birth Certificate:
full name at birth
date and place of birth
parent(s) name(s) including mothers maiden name (if appropriate)
for a Death Certificate:
full name of the deceased
place and date of death
for a Marriage certificate:
full names of both parties at the time of the marriage
date and place of marriage
Please enclose with your letter of application:
a cheque or postal order for the appropriate fee made payable to ‘Warwickshire County Council’
a stamped addressed envelope for the return of the certificate to you if you wish first-class post to be used. Certificates are A4 size.
Alternatively, you may prefer to visit the relevant Register office and complete an application form and pay for your certificate. A certificate will be issued to any person able to provide the above information about the certificate they require, if they visit the relevant Register Office where the record is kept. The information detailed above will need to be given to registration staff at the time of the visit. We can then arrange for you to call back 48hrs later to collect your certificate in person or we can post it out to you.
If you call at an office without an appointment you will be able to leave the fee and then call back for the certificate or have it sent to you by post. In addition, please note that although Saturdays are by appointment only these are in fact only for appointments relating to marriages and civil partnerships.
What will the certificate cost and how can I pay?
The fee for a full birth certificate (showing parent(s)’ details), a death certificate or a marriage certificate is £7.00
The fee for a short birth certificate (showing no parent(s)’ details is £5.50.
Please note that this type of certificate has limited uses and it is advised that full birth certificates are recommended for passport applications
Cheques and postal orders should be made payable to ‘Warwickshire County Council’
Please note that no certificate may be issued without receipt of the correct fee and this means we cannot accept applications by telephone or e-mail as payments may only currently be made by cheque or postal order unless the copy certificate details can be found on the on-line system.
Please go to our Fees and Charges pages to see information on the cost of certificates.
How long will it take?
We aim to process applications which detail the correct information, on the day we receive it.
- Please include a daytime telephone number or e-mail address so that we can contact you quickly in the case of any query.
- Please make sure your return address is stated in your letter.
- All certificates are returned by second-class post if an SAE is not included with the application.
Please note that this service has now become dependent on the time of delivery of post at Register Offices which is tending to be much later in the day than it used to be. Late postal deliveries may delay Register Office processing times.
We will do our best to find the entry you require but it is not possible to supply a copy certificate if insufficient information is given as registration staff need the specific information detailed above to search the indexes to find the birth, death or marriage entry you require. We will contact you if you have given insufficient information. Fees for any certificates which cannot be found will be returned to you.
Do I need to produce ID?
By law, anyone can apply for a copy birth, death or marriage certificate provided that they can give sufficient evidence to identify the correct record to the relevant office and pay the statutory fee. Warwickshire Registration Service is alert to the possibility that people with dubious intentions may apply for copy certificates and all such instances are reported to the General Register Office. A note is kept of every certificate issued, so that if necessary, the Police and other authorities will be notified of certificate numbers that have been obtained for fraudulent or criminal purposes.
How do I apply for a certificate if I am adopted?
If you require a copy of your adopted birth entry, you should apply to the General Register Office in Southport. (http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/)
What do I do if I do not have all the correct information to apply?
If you are not sure where a birth, death or marriage took place there are indexes to all births, deaths and marriages for England and Wales since 1st July 1837 at the National Archives at Kew http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/.
The indexes for all births, deaths and marriages in England and Wales are also held at Warwickshire County Record Office
Birth, death and marriage records before 1st July 1837
Events before the 1st July 1837, when civil registration records began, may have been recorded in church and parish records and Warwickshire County Record Office holds many useful records for the family historian including early census returns. |