This is a brief guide to researching birth, marriage and death records for a person in Scotland or Ireland. The majority of these records are with the relevant general register office or national archive, though some are available online. They are not available at The National Archivesthe official government archive of England, Wales, and the United Kingdom. This guide will help you to find out if the information you are looking for exists and, if it does, where to find it or more information about it.
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What do I need to know before I start?
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Try to find out:
- the person's name (and name of their parents, spouse or next of kin, where applicable)
- the approximate date of the birth, marriage or death
- the religious denomination of those involved
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What records can I see online?
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Scotland: statutory registers and parish registers (1553-2009)
Search birth, marriage and death registers online at ScotlandsPeople. Many registers are available to view online and you can download images (£There may be a charge for accessing this information. Searching indexes may be free.).
There are no birth, marriage and death records for Ireland or Northern Ireland available to see online.
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What records can I find at The National Archives at Kew?
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The National Archives does not hold birth, marriage or death certificates or parish records for Scotland or Ireland.
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What records can I find in other archives and organisations?
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Ireland: birth, marriage and death certificates (from 1864)
Contact the General Register Office of Ireland and the General Register Office for Northern Ireland to obtain copies of birth, marriage and death certificates.
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Scotland: birth, marriage and death certificates (from 1855)
Order copies from the General Register Office for Scotland (£There may be a charge for accessing this information. Searching indexes may be free.).
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What other resources will help me find information?
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Websites
Search for a birth, baptism or marriage in Scotland on the FamilySearch website - this primarily covers events before 1880.
Search the index of Ireland civil registration for births and deaths from 1864 to 1958 and marriages from 1845 to 1958 and various other records from 1619 to 1898 on the FamilySearch website.
Search transcriptions of birth, marriage, and death records on the Irish Family History Foundation's Online Record Search System (£There may be a charge for accessing this information. Searching indexes may be free.).
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Books
Read Tracing your Irish Ancestors 4th edition, by John Grenham (Gill & MacMillan, 2012).
Read Scottish Genealogy by Bruce Durie (The History Press, 2009).
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Births, marriages and deaths in England and Wales
Births, marriages and deaths at sea or abroad
Births, marriages and deaths in the armed forces
Adoptions
Census