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Section of census document (Catalogue reference: RG 10/4197)

This is a brief guide to researching census records. Census records from 1841 to 1911 are available online, so you can search for the records from home. The Scottish 1911 census will not be made available to the public until 2011. Many Irish records have been lost or destroyed - the 1901 census is the earliest and most complete census of Ireland that survives.

  • What do I need to know before I start?

    • Try to find out:

      • the name of the person
      • their approximate date of birth
      • a geographical location of birth or residence

  • What records can I find at The National Archives at Kew?

    • There are no census records available at The National Archives which are not also available online.

  • What records can I find in other archives and organisations?

    • Census records for Scotland (1841-1901)

      Search for and view digital copies of the census of Scotland from 1841 to 1901 online at Scotlandspeople.

    • Census records for Ireland (1901 and 1911)

      Look at the National Archives of Ireland website to see the progress being made in digitising census records for Ireland (including Northern Ireland).

  • What other resources will help me find information?

    • Book

      Read Census: The Expert Guide by Peter Christian and David Annal (The National Archives, 2008).

    • Websites

      Search transcripts of the full 1881 census of England and Wales on FamilySearch and partial census transcripts for England, Wales and Scotland on FreeCEN.

  • The National Archives is not responsible for the content of external websites.

Did you know?

A census of the population of England and Wales has been taken every ten years since 1801 with the exception of 1941. The 1841 census was the first to list the names of every individual. Earlier censuses covering 1801 to 1831 only recorded the number of people in each area.

From January 2009, a phased online release of most of the information from the 1911 census has been taking place, but the most sensitive data will be unavailable until 2012.

From 1851 onwards, every person's relationship to the head of the household was recorded. Due to rounding down, mis-transcription and human error or invention, some details, such as age, may vary between censuses.

Censuses started in Ireland in 1821 and in Scotland in 1841.

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