Birth, death or marriage certificates

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Types of certificates

The Surrey Registration Service has records of every birth, death, marriage and civil partnership that has taken place in Surrey since 1 July 1837. Prices start from £11.

Birth certificates

To apply for a full certified copy of a birth record we need to know:

  • full name of the child (as registered at birth)
  • date of birth
  • Place of birth (such as hospital or home address)
  • parents names (as shown on the original registration)

A full birth certificate contains all the information recorded in the original birth register including mother and father's details (where recorded). This certificate is required for official purposes such as passport and driving licence applications, and for many insurance, employment, pension and salary requirements. Birth certificates are not evidence of identity.

If a person was adopted, the original birth certificate can no longer be used for official use, such as a passport application. To obtain the legal birth/adoption record contact the General Register Office on 0300 123 1837.

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Death certificates

To apply for a certified copy of a death record we need to know:

  • the deceased's full name
  • their date of death
  • where the person died

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We can issue a maximum of five certificates per person only. If you require additional certificates, you can order certificates from the General Register Office.

Marriage certificates

To apply for a certified copy of a marriage record we need to know:

  • full names of both parties at the time of the marriage
  • date of the marriage ceremony (the priority service is not available where the marriage ceremony has taken place in the last 21 days)
  • name of the wedding venue

Marriage certificates can only be issued by a Register Office or the General Register Office.

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Civil partnership certificates

To apply for a certified copy of a civil partnership record we need to know:

  • full names of both parties at the time of the civil partnership
  • the full postal address of each civil partner at the time of the signing
  • date of the civil partnership signing (the priority service is not available where the civil partnership signing has taken place in the last 10 days)
  • name of venue where the civil partnership signing took place

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Delivery options and prices

Postal services are provided by Royal Mail.

Please note: Once the certificates have been collected from our office by Royal Mail they are in their custody. Therefore, we are unable to refund or reissue any replacement certificates should they fail to be delivered.

Standard service

  • We will search our records and dispatch your certificate within 15 working days of receiving your order, Monday to Friday (excluding bank and public holidays).
Delivery methodCost
Second class to a UK address £11
International tracked and signed to a European/overseas address (includes £8 extra postage charge) £19

Priority service

We will search our records and dispatch your certificate by next working day after receiving your order, Monday to Friday (excluding bank and public holidays). Please note: this is not a next day delivery service.

Delivery methodCost
First class to a UK address. £35
International tracked and signed to a European/Overseas address (includes £8 extra postal charge).

£43

Cost of additional copies

If you order more than one copy of an individual register entry, the additional copies will be charged as above.

Please note that if you do not send the correct amount with your certificate application, we will be unable to process your order which will result in a delay in you receiving your certificate.

Other methods of applying

It's quicker and easier to apply online but you are still able to apply by post or telephone:

  • By post: Write to us or print the relevant form from the bottom of this page. Send your application with the appropriate fee (see above for details). Postal orders should be made payable to Surrey County Council and posted to: Guildford Register Office, Artington House, 42 Portsmouth Road, Guildford, Surrey GU2 4DZ.
    Please note we do not accept payment by cheque.
  • By telephone: Please contact us with the details of the certificate you require together with your card details and they will be forwarded to Guildford Register Office for processing.

The areas we do not cover

Records before 1 July 1837

Events before the 1 July 1837 may have been recorded in church baptismal, marriage and burial registers. The Surrey History Centre holds many local parish records and there are some other useful contacts on our family history page.


Files available to download

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