Register Office - Genealogy
Why use Birmingham Register Office?
Certificates obtained from the General Register Office are prepared from copies written and sent by the Registrar, Vicar or Authorised Person, therefore they do not show original signatures.
We aim to post all requests for single certificates within 3 days, it will take us a little longer if you request more certificates.
We have a resident Genealogist, John Yates, who is happy to answer any questions you may have about your family history research. Email him at
You pay only for the certificates we issue - we do not charge a search fee.
If you provide the year, quarter and reference details from the General Register Office Index, we will search for that specific entry.
If you do not specify an entry, we will do a five year search of our records, two years either side of the year you give. If we are unable to find the entry we will not be able to search for it again unless you provide additional information such as a GRO reference.
If we are unable to find an entry in our registers, we will refund your full fee.
If we find a probable match in our registers, where only some of the information corresponds with the information supplied, we will contact you and obtain your agreement before issuing a certificate.
If you apply for more than one certificate and information from one is to be used to confirm that others are correct we will issue the first certificate to ensure you are satisfied before issuing others, this ensures you only purchase certificates relevant to your research.
If you require a search for more than five years, this is called a General Search, for which there are additional charges.
Follow the links below to find out how to make the best use of our resources.
Getting Started in Family History
Birmingham Registration Districts