The main functions of the General Register Office (GRO) include:-
- The administration of the registration of births (live and still), deaths and
marriages through the 26 District Registration Offices.
- The formalities relating to marriage and conduct of civil marriages.
- The maintenance of historic records of births, deaths, marriages and
adoptions.
- The production of certified copies of birth, death and marriage certificates to
applicants on request.
- The preparation and publication of annual birth, death, marriage, divorce and
population statistics, and
- The registration of adoptions.
Location of General Register Office
The General Register Office is located at:-
Oxford House
49/55 Chichester Street
Belfast
BT1 4HL
Telephone No:- 028 90 252000
Email for Birth, Death, Marriage Certificate Queries: gro.nisra@dfpni.gov.uk
Email for Marriage, Re-registration and Adoptions: groreg.nisra@dfpni.gov.uk
Email for Statistics Queries: grostats.nisra@dfpni.gov.uk
Senior Personnel
Registrar General :- Dr. Norman Caven
Assistant Registrar General :- Mrs. Annette Gilkeson
Assistant Registrar General :- Mr. Stanley Campbell
How to find the General Register Office in Belfast
Background
The General Register Office is part of the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency and is
primarily concerned with the administration of the registration of births, deaths and marriages.
The main records held are the statutory registers of births, deaths, marriages, still births and
adoptions. The registers themselves are not open to inspection, but the information from them is
supplied in the form of certificates.
The Beginnings of Registration
In 1845 legislation came into force which provided for the registration of civil marriages in
Ireland and for the regulation of all non Roman Catholic marriages. It also created the Office of the
Registrar General who remains to this day responsible for the collation and custody of all birth,
death and marriage records.
Further legislation, which became operative in 1864, provided for the inclusion of Roman Catholic
marriages, together with birth and deaths. A comprehensive registration system was now in place.
Development of the Northern Ireland Registration Service
After the passing of the Government of Ireland Act 1920, the registration functions for Northern Ireland
were placed with the Ministry of Finance on 7 June 1921 and later assigned, on 8 April 1922, to the newly
created post of Registrar General for Northern Ireland.
At the time of transfer there were 27 union based superintendent registrar districts and 180
dispensary based districts operating in Northern Ireland.
The reform of local government in 1973 saw changes to that system with the 26 District Councils
becoming the registration authorities for their areas and acting as agents of the Registrar General
and central government in the provision of the service. At the same time, all birth and death registers
previously held in each district were centralised in the General Register Office which retained overall
responsibility for the service.
A Modern Service
Today the registration service continues to record the vital events of births, deaths and
marriages on a daily basis. In
2003
there were
21648
births and
14391
deaths registered. The General Register Office also
oversees the administration of the law on the preliminaries to marriage and the registration of marriage.
Additionally, facilities are available in each district for the Registrar to conduct civil marriages.
In
2003
,
7757
marriages were registered. Of these,
2134
were civil marriages which now constitute
27% of all marriages, compared to 5% in 1922.
The registration service must ensure the safe custody of all statutory registers of births, death,
marriages and adoptions. The security of personal information is as important today as ever and all
records are kept in modern fireproof facilities.
Future Developments
The General Register Office is constantly seeking to improve the quality of service provided to customers and was recently obtained the Charter Mark for the third time. This was awarded for providing an excellent public service within the Certificate Production Section. The office has made numerous improvements in the past few years aimed at improving customer service and due to customer demand a priority service was introduced for those who require certificates urgently. Additionally, a credit card and on-line ordering service were also introduced to phenomenal success.
We have recently updated the facilities provided in our public search room providing one amalgamated system, to allow ease of access and speed up the process for searchers and genealogists. There are many more exciting developments planned over the coming years in the General Register Office, including those highlighted below.
Modernisation of the Registration Service
GRO has recently published the Civil Registration in the 21st Century -
Modernising a Vital Service consultation paper. This paper proposes a wide range of reforms to the future role and operation of the registration service and reflects the views of the public who support a more flexible and efficient service underpinned by modern technology. We welcome your views on any of the issues covered by the policy paper. For more information please contact civilreg.nisra@dfpni.gov.uk
It is almost 140 years since the present system for registering births and deaths was first introduced. The consultation document looks at a wide range of areas concerning the future role and operation of the service. Over 40,000 records of births, deaths and marriages are created every year. Almost everyone is likely to need to visit the local register office at least once in their life. Today people want a choice of how and when these services are available. One of the objectives of modernisation is to make that choice possible. The consultation document was seeking views on a range of possible changes including the greater use of information technology.
The closing date for responses to the consultation was 7th July 2006. Contributions were invited from all interested individuals and organisations and in particular from the public. We are currently in the process of analysing the responses. For more information please contact civilreg.nisra@dfpni.gov.uk
Further information can be obtained in the FAQ section.
Gender Recognition
The Gender Recognition Act 2004 will come into force on 4 April 2005. The Act establishes a Gender Recognition Panel which will determine applications from people living in the UK who wish to change in law their gender. The Gender Recognition Panel has established a website containing the necessary application forms, guidance and other information for those wishing to change gender in the UK
Disclosure of Death Registration Information
A joint consultation paper, ‘Disclosure of Death Registration Information’ has been published by the Registrars General for England & Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. The document sets out proposals for a joint scheme to disclose death registration information to assist in the prevention, detection, investigation or prosecution of offences.
Timely disclosure of death information would help the police, other law enforcement bodies, public and private sector organisations deal with offences and identify cases of attempted fraud by criminals using the personal details of the deceased. Identity Fraud, of which Impersonation of the Deceased (IOD) fraud is a type, costs the UK economy in excess of £1 billion a year.
Following the links below will take you directly to the joint consultation paper. The closing date for responses is Tuesday 6 March 2007 and these should be sent to the relevant General Register Office.
Disclosure of Death Information Consultation Paper (pdf format)
Disclosure of Death Information Consultation Paper (word format)
Disclosure of Death Information Consultation Paper Response Form (word format)
For more information please contact civilreg.nisra@dfpni.gov.uk
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