Registers or indexes are kept on the ground floor of the Family Records Centre (FRC). (The FRC's website can be found at www.familyrecords.gov.uk/frc.) Copies of Local registers are kept with the registrar for that district, and there are some 600 districts in England and Wales. It is usually best to start your searches by visiting the Family Records Centre. Addresses for local registrars can be found in the telephone book. A complete list of local registrars is also included in the annual Family and Local History Handbook, details of which can be found at www.genealogical.co.uk

You cannot see the original certificates so the indexes must be used to find the registration details of the event you are interested in. You can then order the certificate itself, which can either be posted to you or can be collected a few days later. Each certificate costs £6.50 (2002 prices). There are no refunds so mistakes are expensive!

The indexes are compiled on a quarterly basis, with four alphabetical volumes. The layout of the indexes is much the same and contains:

You need to quote all this information plus the year and volume when you order a certificate.

The Society of Genealogists, Family History Centers and some large reference libraries have microfiche sets of the registers. A set (to 1992) is also available in the Microfiche Reading Room at Kew.

The indexes (not the certificates themselves) are being transcribed by volunteers and made available on the FreeBMD website at freebmd.rootsweb.com

More information can be found on the GRO's web site at www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/

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