FAQ
If you have any questions that are not answered here then please contact us.
How secure is PayPal?
How long will it take for my items to arrive?
Where can I find the General Register Office (GRO) index information?
Why does the website refer to 'Full' birth certificates?
What if I don't have the index information?
What do the quarters March, June, September and December refer to?
What is the minimum amount of information that I need to send you to enable you to find my ancestor?
PayPal automatically encrypts your confidential information in transit from your computer to theirs using the Secure Sockets Layer protocol (SSL) with an encryption key length of 128-bits (the highest level commercially available). Before you even register or log in to their site, their server checks that you're using an approved browser - one that uses SSL 3.0 or higher.
Once your information reaches them, it resides on a server that is heavily guarded both physically and electronically. Their servers sit behind an electronic firewall and are not directly connected to the Internet, so your private information is available only to authorised computers.
Birth, marriage, death certificates and Wills will be posted to you by first class post or airmail within 5 to 10 working days after you have paid for an order.
The Family Records Centre in London has all the GRO records from 1837 on microfiche.
Or if you wish to search the birth, marriage and death records yourself online then you can view the actual records by clicking on the following 'Ancestry.co.uk' banner. This will take you to the Ancestry.co.uk website where you will be offered a free 14 day trial. You will need to register but this is free!
Alternatively you can visit Free BMD (opens in a new window) which has birth, marriage and death index information from 1837 to around 1912. Please note - the whole index has not yet been transcribed. Progress can be checked here (opens in a new window)
A short birth certificate only includes the childs details, the full version includes the parents details. For family history puposes you need to order Full birth certificates.
You can still request us to do a search for you. You just need to provide us with as much information as you can and we will search 5 years either side of the date that you specify. Please got to the Order a Certificate page and look for the 'Request a Search'information. Then click on the type of certificate that you require.
The indexes are arranged in quarters for every year. March holds the indexes for January, February and March. June holds the indexes for April, May and June. September holds the indexes for July, August and September and December holds the indexes for October, November and December.
In most cases all we need you to tell us is the forename and surname of the person you are looking for and the approximate year of the event. However if the surname is very common we may require more information. On the other hand if the surname is very rare then we may be able to find certificates with just the surname and an appropriate year. If you are in doubt please send us what you do know and we will contact you. If you find that you are unable to send the form because you haven't completed a box just type in 'Not Known' and then try resending it.