Copy Certificates

How to order a copy of a birth certificate, death certificate or a marriage or civil partnership certificate.

Order your certificate(s)

Certificate cost

Certificates cost £12.50 each and are processed within 5 business days (plus postage time). If you need the certificate urgently, our priority service costs £36.50 per certificate. Orders are processed the next business day.

Postage cost 

  • Signed For First Class, £3.05 per order
  • Special Delivery Guaranteed by 1pm, £7.95 per order

Birth certificates for babies born at Queens Hospital in Romford

If you want to order a birth certificate for a child that was born more than 6 months ago at Queens Hospital in Romford, you must apply to Havering Council. 

When you can expect your certificate

Standard service

Royal Mail delivery:

  • orders placed before 1pm on a business day will be dispatched within 5 business days
  • orders placed after 1pm on a business day will be dispatched within 6 business days

Priority service

Royal Mail delivery:

  • orders placed before 1pm on a business day will be dispatched the next business day
  • orders placed after 1pm on a business day will be dispatched in 2 business days.

Information we need from you

To issue a copy of a certificate, we need to know:

  • the type of certificate you are seeking (birth, marriage, civil partnership or death)
  • the name(s) the certificate applies to
  • the date of the event
  • the place of the event
  • for a birth, we need to know the parents' names
  • any other relevant information that may help us locate the certificate

Help making your order

All our libraries have computers with internet access and staff may be able to help you complete your order.

Adoption certificates

We can't provide copies of adoption certificates, but these can be ordered from the General Register Office. 

Events before 1 July 1837

If you require a copy certificate for an event which took place before 1 July 1837, information can be found at The National Archives.

Events outside the borough

If you require a certificate for a birth, death, marriage or civil partnership that did not take place in Barking and Dagenham, you must contact the local authority in which the event occurred or apply for a certificate at GOV.UK.

If you are outside the UK

We can’t provide certificate copies to anyone outside the UK. You may be able to order certificates from the General Register Office.