Search Scotland, Parish Marriages & Banns 1561-1893

The detail contained in these records can vary (particularly by parish and era), but you will usually find the following information:

• Full names (forename and surname) of both partners
• Age and year of birth of both partners
• Place and county of birth of both partners
• Residence of both partners
• Parish of origin of both partners
• Parents' names (and sometimes even grandparents)
• Occupations
• Archival reference number
• Denomination
• Record source collection
• Additional notes

The Scottish national parish collection was compiled from a variety of different sources, from a number of organisations including:

• The Scottish Genealogy Society
• Dundee Leisure & Culture
• Glasgow & West of Scotland Family History Society
• Fife Family History Society
• The Highland Family History Society
• Dumfries & Galloway Family History Society
• Renfrewshire Family History Society
• Lothians Family History Society
• Lanarkshire Family History Society
• West Lothian Family History Society
• Scottish Indexes

It contains transcriptions of the original surviving Church of Scotland OPR (Old Parish Registers) material from across the country, including later records that have never been seen before online. It is supplemented by further new records from other faiths, including the Scottish Episcopal Church, Free Church of Scotland, United Free Church, and more.

Irregular ceremonies

Scotland has a tradition of Irregular marriage, legal until 1940.This consisted of a couple 'declaring their marriage' in front of witnesses, but not in a church ceremony. The church would legitimise the marriage by making the couple pay a fine, and writing this information into the records of the Kirk Session.

A growing number of these have been volunteer indexed and added to this collection, to give the best possible chance of finding your ancestors even if they did not marry in the expected manner.

Cross-border marriage

This collection also contains cross-border marriages, where individuals from other countries have arrived in Scotland to take advantage of permissive marriage laws to marry quickly or conveniently. These visitors arrived from both Ireland and England, often choosing areas just at the border.

Portpatrick is a popular destination for Irish marriages, while English ceremonies often took place at Gretna among other nearby locations.