Family searches

If you are trying to trace the birth, marriage or death certificate of a family member, a good place to start is at the library nearest to where the event took place (see information about Tower Hamlets history and archives library). All the information available there is free and may confirm the existence of a certificate.

You can also ask for a family history search at the register office but there is a fee of £18. This service does not guarantee a certificate unless you have confirmed its existence through your own research.

Certificate costs

From the 1st November 2007:

Marriage, death and full birth certificates will cost:

• £10 - Priority same day service
• £8 - Post to customer next working day service 
• £7 - Collect next working day service
  
  

Short Birth Certificates:

• £8.50 - Priority same day service 
• £6.50 - Post to customer next working day service  
• £5.50 - Collect next working day service

Ordering by phone

You can order over the telephone and pay with your credit/debit card. This will be treated as a priority service and the cost will be £10 (inclusive of postage and packaging).

Please call the following number to use this service:
020 7364 7884 or 020 7364 7981

You can contact the Tower Hamlets Register Office for more information.

If you are unsure of the place where the birth, marriage or death event took place, you can apply to the Family Records Centre in Islington, London. They hold the birth, death and marriage records for the whole of England and Wales. They go as far back as 1837.

Contact the Family Records Centre

Write to:

Family Records Centre
1 Myddelton Street
London EC1R 1UW

Tel: 020 7364 7880

Births, marriages, deaths, adoptions and overseas enquiries, or general enquiries about certificates

Tel: 0870 243 7788
Fax: 01704 550013
E-mail: certificate.services@ons.gov.uk

Census and general enquiries about the Family Record Centre (not births, marriages and deaths)

Tel: 020 8392 5300
Fax: 020 8392 5307
E-mail: enquiry@pro.gov.uk

Or visit the Family Records Centre web site on www.familyrecords.gov.uk

Alternatively, visit the National Family Records Centre or the Central Government's Office of National Statistics website for more information on family searches.

Nationality checking service

Available by appointment only - Please contact us on:
Tel: 020 7364 7898.

Fees: £45 per adult  £20 per child.

Pid No: 323, 324, 698
Pid No: 324
Pid No: 698