Copies of Birth, Death, Marriage and Civil Partnership Certificates
Hackney has been registering births, deaths and marriages since 1837. Copies of relevant certificates are available on request and on payment of the correct fee (see below for details)..
How to order
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You can order your certificates online if you have a valid credit or debit card.
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You can order over the telephone and pay by credit or debit card by calling 020 8356 3000.
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You can apply in person at the Town Hall between 9am and 4.30pm, Mon - Fri. The certificate will be ready for collection while-you-wait (for an extra fee), on the following working day or it can be posted out to you.
Please note that we cannot accept applications by email.
Certificates for adopted people and for people born abroad to armed services or diplomatic families can be obtained from the General Register Office.You can contact the General Register Office on 0300 123 1837 or write to PO Box 2, Southport, Merseyside PR8 2JD.
Family History
In registration terms, family histroy applies to any event registered before October 1897. Hackney offer a service for those enjoying the current interest in tracing their family tree.
However, please note the following:
- Processing time is 4 to 6 weeks
- Customers without an exact date must have narrowed it down to a quarter (e.g. Jan/Feb/Mar qtr 1850). Use the research tools suggested in the 'Related Links' section of this page
- For marriages, an exact place of marriage must be known. (Except for Shoreditch marriages up to 1873, where a quarter and the name of at least one party is sufficient). If the exact place of marriage is unknown, please apply to the General Register Office as your application will be returned
- If you have any criteria for us to consider before issuing the certificate (e.g. you only want the certificate if the father is a certain person) then please make it clear. We will not charge you for the research if the criteria does not match
- The registration now known as Hackney comprises of: Hackney, Shoreditch, Stoke Newington, Haggerston, Hoxton, Holywell and St. Leonard's
- Although we understand your family history is very important to you, please keep your applications brief! We only need the information listed above; details of previous offspring, previous marriages or diagrams of your family tree will just slow down the processing of your application, so please summarise!
- Our indices are available for you to research yourself. Please call 020 8356 3000 the week before you would like to visit and we will try our best to accommodate you
Fees
Standard birth certificates (also known as long certificates which include the parents' names), marriage, civil partnership and death certificates cost £9.00. Standard certifcates are required for passports, by the Home Office, for housing and in most legal cases.
- Short birth certificates (with just the person's name and date of birth) cost £9.00. Short certificates are fine for benefit claims and registering with a doctor
- Our Fast Track service costs £10 extra per separate order. The certificate will be produce while the customer waits; or will be posted out same-day if a telephone application
- Searching the indices costs £18 for 6 hours commencing at 9am
- First-class post cost 50p. Recorded Delivery is an extra £2.00 or you can pay £3.50 for guaranteed next day delivery.
Page updated: 12 Jan 2012
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