How Can I Obtain a Copy of a Marriage Certificate?

You can order a certificate for a marriage registered in England and Wales...

• online* or by post, telephone or fax from the General Register Office (GRO). The site includes application forms for ordering by post.

     *Note that to order certificates online for marriages before
      1st January 1900 you need to supply the full GRO index
      reference; for marriages between 1st January 1900 and 18
      months before the present date, you need to supply the
      GRO index reference or the exact date of the marriage.

• from the register office at which the marriage was registered, if you know which it was. For contact details and web sites of all register offices, see Register Offices.

Does how I order affect the cost?

The two cheapest ways (by a few pounds) are...

• ordering from the local register office at which the marriage  was registered, and

• ordering online from the GRO if you supply the GRO index  reference with your order.

How do I find GRO index references?

• The GRO index references are given in the marriages index. For each marriage entry, the GRO index reference consists of the details given in the volume and page columns of the index.