Promotional material
Family tree: guide to marriage certificates
How to use the General Register Office to find marriage certificates when researching your family tree and family history.
Documents
Details
This guide explains:
- how to find your ancestors’ marriage certificates
- how much it costs to order a marriage certificate
- what information you’ll find on a marriage certificate
- how to order marriage certificates online, by phone or by post
The guide also includes tips on what to do if you can’t find your ancestors in the General Register Office’s public index of every marriage recorded in England and Wales since 1837.
Updates to this page
Published 22 January 2016
Last updated 13 September 2025
show all updates
-
The General Register Office phone line is no longer open on Saturdays.
-
New marriage certificates leaflet.
-
First published.