Apply for a certificate of a birth, death, marriage or civil partnership
We are currently experiencing intermittent issues with the National Registration System. This is affecting all register offices in England and Wales. As a result, if you are attending an appointment you may wait longer to be seen; your appointment may take longer than usual; and we may need to send your certificates to you by post. If you are waiting to receive a pre-ordered certificate your order may take longer to arrive than usual. We are really sorry for the inconvenience this may cause you. Please bear with us. We are doing everything we can to try to minimise the impact on you, our customers; whilst the issues outside our control are investigated and resolved.
Due to the temporary relocation of one of our offices, there may be some disruption to our Priority Service and we apologise for any inconvenience. Nottinghamshire County Council holds the records of all births, deaths and marriages which have taken place in the county since 1837, plus civil partnerships since 2005.
We do not hold records for any event which has taken place within the Nottingham City boundary. Those records are held by Nottingham City Council.
For events before 1837, records are held either at local churches or at the county archives.
If you have been legally adopted (in England & Wales) you need to apply for your adoption certificate to the The Registrar General.
For a copy of your divorce papers (decree absolute) you will need to contact the court where the divorce was granted. Visit gov.uk for more information.
You will need
For all certificates:
- full name of the person (at the time of the event) whose certificate is required
- date and place of the event
- details of why you require a certificate
- your relationship to the person(s) concerned
- your name, contact details and address
- your payment details
Additionally:
- for birth certificates: parents' full names, including mother's maiden name
- for death certificates: where possible last known occupation and address or age of the deceased
- for civil partnership certificates: full address of both partners at the time of the civil partnership (if you don’t know the address, we can only issue a short certificate that does not include address details for both partners).
Costs
Standard: £11 per copy certificate
- postal dispatch after seven days
- postage costs outside of UK - £2
Priority/24 hour service: £35 per certificate
- Dispatch or collection the same day (where possible, where the application is received before 3pm) or the next working day.
Alternative ways to do this
You can also apply:
- by telephone: 0300 500 80 80
- by post
