Copies of Birth, Death, Marriage and Civil Partnership Certificates

Hackney has been registering these events since 1837.

Copies of these certificates are available on request and on payment of the correct fee.

You can order over the telephone and pay by credit or debit card by calling 020 8356 3000.

You can apply in person at the Town Hall between 9am and 4pm, Mon - Fri. The certificate will be ready for collection while-you-wait (for an extra fee); the following working day or it can be posted out to you.

You can apply by writing to Registrars, Hackney Town Hall, Mare Street, London E8 1EA enclosing the correct fee, an SAE and a contact telephone number. We aim to post out within 5 working days. Please note that July to August is peak time and some delays may be experienced; if a certificate is required urgently for travel it is best to call first and let us know.

Application forms are available in the 'Downloads' section of this page.

Please note, we cannot accept applications by email or online.

Adoption certificates and for those peple born abroad to armed services or diplomatic families can be obtained from the General Register Office. You can contact them on 0151 471 4800 or write to PO Box 2, Southport, Merseyside PR8 2JD.

Family History

In registration terms, this applies to any event registered before Ocotber 1897.

Hackney are delighted to 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 3365 / 3493 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 £7. 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 £5.50. 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, which do 'carry over'
• First-class post is covered by your fee. Recorded Delivery is an extra £1.50
• If applying for more than one Family History certificate, it may be easier to send one payment for each application. This allows us to refund you more easily if one of your applications cannot be traced

Cheques or postal orders should be made payable to London Borough of Hackney.

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Page updated: 30 Sep 2008