Registration services and research

Our registration offices record births, stillbirths, deaths, marriages and civil partnerships.  

Weddings

We conduct civil wedding ceremonies as an alternative to religious services. 

Certificates

You can order copies of certificates (also known as extracts) of births, marriage, deaths and other events registered in Scotland between 1855 and 2013/14.


Other services

Use our enquiry form find out more about:

Family history

Family history research costs £15 per hour. We can access full digital records for the whole of Scotland from 1855-2017; census records from 1841 to 1911 and Old Parish Records pre 1855. You can submit a family history enquiry using our enquiry form.

Change of name

This service is only available if you were born in Scotland. There may be a charge depending on your age and circumstances. The recording fee is £40 (however, there is a reduction for further siblings should they apply for a change of name at the same time – this would be £10 each)

Visit GOV.UK to find out how to change your name by deed poll if you weren't born or adopted in Scotland.

Getting married abroad

Depending on where you want to get married you may need documentation from us such as a certificate of no impediment (CONI). The getting married abroad tool on gov.uk will advise you on which documents to get and how to order them.

Re-registration of birth

You can re-register a birth that was originally registered in Scotland. Re-registration is the creation of a new birth entry to add the natural father’s/parent's details, alter parentage details or add the parents’ marriage or civil partnership details if that marriage or civil partnership took place after the birth was originally registered. There is no fee for this service.

Declaration of parentage

If the father of a child is not married to the mother when the child's birth is registered then his name may not be entered on the child's birth certificate. It may be that the mother subsequently desires that the father's name should appear on the birth certificate. In these circumstances, the father can make a Statutory Declaration that he is the father of the child.