British Isles Civil Registration

The Vancouver Public Library does not have birth, marriage and death records for the British Isles. The library does provide access to electronic indexes of English and Welsh records as well as useful secondary materials on English, Welsh, Irish and Scottish BMD records. Other services and resources available at the VPL, elsewhere in the Lower Mainland and online offer further help in locating these important records. As well, it may be worthwhile to consider hiring a local professional genealogist in England, Wales, Ireland or Scotland. In some cases, this will save you money. England and Wales share the same civil registration system while Scotland, the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland each have separate systems. All British Isles civil BMDrecords since the beginning of registration are open to the public although there may be a delay in the availability of very recent records. Obtaining copies of birth, marriage and death records is a two-step process:

1. Search birth, marriage and death (BMD) indexes.
   The indexes to British Isles BMD records are large sets of printed or computerized data which list all of the people who have been registered since the beginning of registration. The indexes do not provide all the particulars of a person’s registration. They just tell you that the person was registered and that a record exists.
2. Apply for copies of full registration records.
   Once you have found a relevant entry in the BMD indexes, the information can be used to obtain a copy of the corresponding full registration record. Full registration records provide much more information than is found in indexes.

Family History Center (Burnaby)

The Family History Center at 5280 Kincaid Street in Burnaby, BC is operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They provide free access to some British Isles BMD indexes and full registration records on microfilm and microfiche. Call ahead to make an appointment: 604-299-8656.

Family History Library (Salt Lake City)

The collection of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City comprises a vast range of microfilmed genealogical data from around the world including some British Isles BMD indexes and registration records.

FamilySearch

FamilySearch, operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, provides access to a vast range of free genealogical data. The site includes two components of particular interest to those searching for British Isles BMD registration records:

The Record section of the site provides access to a wide range of indexes and digital images of genealogical records for literally billions of people. Records include birth, marriage, death, probate, land, military, International Genealogical Index and much more. New genealogical data collections are regularly added to this quickly expanding site so check back regularly to see what is new.

The International Genealogical Index is a large online database of information compiled from a variety of information sources. It includes a significant amount of British Isles civil birth and marriage index information.

Records administered by: General Register Office (GRO)

Start date: 1837

Searching BMD Indexes in England and Wales

The GRO indexes to births, marriages and deaths in England and Wales are compiled in large, heavy, printed volumes. If you travel to England and Wales, you can search the GRO indexes at several locations including The National Archives at Kew in London. Searching in person is free.

Searching BMD Indexes from a Distance

General Register Office

You can submit a postal or online request to the General Register Office (GRO) for a search of English and Welsh BMD indexes for a fee. If an index reference is found, a copy of the full registration record will be provided. If a reference is not found, the GRO will provide a full refund.

Ancestry Library Edition

Ancestry Library Edition (ALE) is a vast electronic collection of genealogical records available to the public for free at all Vancouver Public Library locations (access from home is not available). The ALE collection includes 6 databases comprising English and Welsh GRO index data:

• England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915
• England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916-2007
• England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1837-1915
• England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916-2005
• England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1837-1915
• England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007

FreeBMD

FreeBMD is a massive volunteer project aimed at creating a full transcription of the GRO birth, marriage and death indexes for England and Wales and making it available for free on the Internet. As of June 2012, the database contained over 270,000,000 complete records. Coverage is complete for 1837-1929 while a very large number of 1930-1969 index entries have also been finished. The search interface is very good but response time is sometimes slow due to the popularity of the database.

Family History Center (Burnaby)

The Family History Center provides free access to English and Welsh BMD indexes on microfilm or microfiche for the following years:

• Births, 1837-1945; uneven coverage after 1945
• Marriages, 1837-1968
• Deaths, 1837-1964

Getting the Full Registration Record

There is no direct access to full registration records for England and Wales. Records are only available by application to the General Registers Office for a fee. Applications for full registration records can be submitted online, by telephone, by regular mail or in person. For more information, see their page on Birth, Marriage and Death Certificates.

Records administered by: National Records of Scotland (NRS)

Start date: 1855

Searching BMD Indexes in Scotland

The NRS indexes to Scottish BMD records can be searched in person at the ScotlandsPeople Centre in Edinburgh. There is a fee for access.

Searching Scottish BMD Indexes from a Distance

ScotlandsPeople

The online indexes to Scottish BMD records can be searched directly at ScotlandsPeople. There is a charge for using the website, but it provides access to both indexes and printable digitized images of the corresponding registration records.

Family History Center (Burnaby)

The Family History Center provides free access to Scottish BMD indexes on microfilm or microfiche for the following years:

• Births, 1855-1954
• Marriages, 1855-1956
• Deaths, 1855-1956

Family History Library (Salt Lake City)

The Family History Library collection includes microfilm copies of Scottish birth, marriage and death indexes covering the period from 1855-1956. Some nominal indexes for Scottish births, baptisms, and marriages are available through FamilySearch.

FamilySearch

The International Genealogical Index includes Scottish birth and marriage index information for the period from 1855-1875.

Getting the Full Registration Record

National Records of Scotland

Records can be ordered in person at New Register House or the General Register House. Records can also be ordered by telephone or regular mail. For more information, see their page on How to Order a Certificate.

ScotlandsPeople

As described above, the ScotlandsPeople website provides access to printable digitized images of full Scottish BMD registration records. There is a charge for using the site.

The following information applies to Irish BMD registration records for the whole of Ireland until 1921 as well as for the Republic of Ireland from 1922 onwards. See the Northern Ireland tab below for information on post-1921 BMD registration records for Northern Ireland.

Records administered by: General Register Office (GRO)

Start date (non-Catholic marriages): 1845

Start date (all other BMDs): 1864

Searching Irish BMD Indexes in Ireland

General Register Office

Birth, marriage, and death indexes for the whole of Ireland up to 1921 are available to the public in the Search Room at the General Register Office in Dublin. BMD indexes for the Republic of Ireland from 1922 onward are also available. There is a search fee.

Searching Irish BMD Indexes from a Distance

General Register Office

You can request a search of the indexes at the General Register Office Research Facility by mail or fax. There is a search fee.

Ancestry Library Edition

Ancestry Library Edition (ALE) is a vast electronic collection of genealogical records available to the public for free at all Vancouver Public Library locations (access from home is not available). The ALE collection includes the following databases comprising Irish birth, marriage, and death index data:

• Ireland, Civil Registration Births Index, 1864-1958
• Ireland, Civil Registration Marriages Index, 1845-1958
• Ireland, Civil Registration Deaths Index, 1864-1958

Family History Center (Burnaby)

The Family History Center holds the following Irish BMD indexes:

Family History Library (Salt Lake City)

The Family History Library collection includes indexes to Irish civil registration records for the following years:

FamilySearch

FamilySearch provides access to the Ireland, Civil Registration Indexes, 1845-1958, a database derived from Irish civil registration records. Search results include full references to original records.

The International Genealogical Index includes birth and marriage index information for the whole of Ireland from 1864-1868. More information is available on the FamilySearch International Genealogical Index wiki page.

Performing a regular search on FamilySearch will search both IGI indexed records along with more recently indexed records. To search just the entries from the International Genealogical Index, select the "International Genealogical Index (IGI)" collection from the list of historical record collections. From the collection page you may choose to search either community indexed entries or community contributed entries.

Getting the Full Registration Record

General Register Office

Irish birth, marriage and death registration records to 1921 (for the whole of Ireland) and from 1922 onward (Republic of Ireland) can be ordered in person at the General Register Office (GRO) or by fax, email, or mail. Downloadable forms are available online. For more information, see their page on Ordering Certificates.

Family History Center (Burnaby)

The Family History Center has the following Irish BMD full registration records:

Family History Library (Salt Lake City)

The Family History Library collection includes the following full Irish civil registration records:

• 1864-1955 births
• 1845-1870 marriages (1845-1863 records are non-Catholic only)
• 1864-1870 deaths

For information about locating Northern Irish BMD records for the period prior to 1922, see the Ireland tab above.

Records administered by: General Register Office for Northern Ireland (GRONI)

Start date: 1922

Searching BMD Indexes in Northern Ireland

The GRONI has computerized birth, marriage, and death indexes for Northern Ireland. These cover BMD records for Northern Ireland since 1864 (since 1845 in the case of non-Catholic marriages). They can be searched in the Public Search Room of their Belfast office. There is a search fee. Appointment required.

Searching Northern Ireland BMD Indexes from a Distance

For information about remote searching of Northern Ireland BMD indexes prior to 1922, see the Ireland tab.

GRONIonline

You can perform simple name searches for free on GRONIonline. For more advanced search options, you will need to register for an account and purchase credits.

Family History Center (Burnaby)

The Family History Center collection includes the following indexes to Northern Ireland BMD indexes:

• Births, 1922-1925, 1946-1950
• Marriages, 1922-1937
• Deaths, 1922-1929

Family History Library (Salt Lake City)

The Family History Library collection includes indexes to the following civil registration records for Northern Ireland:

• Births, 1922-1959
• Marriages, 1922-1959
• Deaths, 1922-1959

Getting the Full Registration Record

General Registration Office for Northern Ireland

Full registration records for Northern Ireland (all BMDs beginning 1864; non-Catholic marriages beginning 1845) can be ordered online, by telephone, by mail, or in person. There are printable forms on GRONIonline that can be used to order records by mail. For more information, see their page on Ordering Life Event Certificates.

Family History Library (Salt Lake City)

The Family History Library collection includes full civil registration records for Northern Ireland births, marriages and deaths, 1922-1959.