How to find birth records

If you’re researching more recent births, you may need to apply for a copy of a birth record from the General Records Office (GRO). Access may be restricted to protect a person’s privacy.  

You’ll usually be asked to provide a name, birth date and location, and pay a fee. 

Searching birth records on a genealogy site can help you to build up a detailed picture of your family history in just a few simple steps.  

A successful birth records search begins with gathering as much information as possible about the individual you’re researching. Start with their full name, birth date, and place of birth (if known). 

To find the person you’re looking for when conducting a birth records search online, you should: 

• Narrow down your search results by location and year. If you’re unsure of the specifics, try using a broad area (e.g. a county) and a wide year range. 
• Try different name spellings. Historical records often contain variations in spelling – a mistake may have been made by the person recording the birth, or a letter could’ve been missed in transcription. 
• Enrich your understanding with old newspapers. Historical newspapers often announced births, marriages and deaths, so you may find a birth announcement to help you.  

Before civil registration, births were recorded by the church in the form of parish baptisms. For the Church of England, these records span back to 1538. They may be able to help you to build the more distant branches of your family tree. 

Like civil birth records, baptism records are available to search online. With key details like a name, date of birth and location, you should be able to find your ancestor’s baptism record. 

Don’t forget to consider the different denominations that your ancestor may have belonged to. If they were Roman Catholic, their baptism record will sit within Catholic family history records. If they were Quaker or Non-Conformist, this will of course be reflected in their record, and will affect where you start your search. 

The details you’ll glean from each record varies slightly depending on location and time period. In general, though, birth records contain: 

• A full name  
• A date and place of birth  
• Both parents’ names and mother’s maiden name  
• Father’s occupation  
• Details of who recorded the birth, and when  
• In the case of baptism records, godparents’ names 

As well as telling you where and when someone was born, birth records can illuminate new paths for your research to follow. Use them in conjunction with marriage, death and burial records to build your family tree.