Get the best out of the GRO website

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Since 2003, family historians have been using the General Register Office (GRO) website to order certificates online. The GRO is part of Her Majesty’s Passport Office and oversees civil registration in England and Wales. It maintains the national archive of all births, marriages and deaths dating back to 1837. The website was initially available for UK residents only, but was later opened up to international customers.

Throughout this period, family historians used paper or online indexes to find the reference required to order birth, marriage and death certificates. The necessary details include full name(s), year of event, quarter of event, registration district, volume number, and page number. Searches could be made online for free at FreeBMD www.freebmd.org.uk but this site is maintained by volunteers and is not fully comprehensive.

In November 2016, there was great excitement in the genealogy community when the GRO launched its own searchable birth and death indexes on its website. Unlike other indexes of the records, these were even more useful