How To Search Death Records In London
Death records are an important local government function because they help the authorities to acquire valuable data about the population living in their jurisdiction. This piece of information is necessary because it helps to keep all other records up-to-date; for example, if a resident of London is collecting benefits from the government such as health or living expenses, his or her death means that the government should stop paying. However without a registered death, there is no proof that a beneficiary is deceased and so, the payments will keep coming. Death records are also accessible to citizens who wish to use them for personal research. Most people search death records in London to establish a family lineage, or by lawyers to find relatives of deceased clients. Getting access to death records for research is fairly straight forward and the local governments in most parts of London has made the procedure very easy.
Instructions
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General Register Office (GRO)
The GRO is in-charge of maintaining all records that relate to birth, marriage or death. The GRO for England and Wales is centralized and users can access all the wp-content/uploads from one location. However, if you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you will need to access their records separately. The right place to do a search on death records is the GRO. -
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GRO Index
In order to start your search of Death Records in London you need to understand the GRO Index. This is a public index that is free to search and lists all births, deaths and marriages in Wales and England that have been registered. Each record has a GRO Index and a short summary of the information including the year of death, volume number, page number and location. The earliest record in the index is from 1837. -
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GRO Index Reference number
The records have a GRO Index reference number that is used to order certificates. The Index number is a unique system used by the GRO; it is not related to any other system in place, including the census. The Index number helps in finding the correct information, easier and faster. The information is divided into quarterly sections, which is applicable to all records from 1837 to 1984 and after that, all records are added by year. -
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Searching the GRO Index online
Individuals can view the index onlline for free. This can be done by going to the FreeBMD page. This online project is part of FreeUKGEN and is ongoing so not all records will be available. You can also use private companies to search the index but they will charge you.
Some private firms include:
View Find My Past Website
View BMD Index Website
View The Genealogist Website -
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Physical Copies of the Index
The index can be found in its complete form in several libraries. These venues will offer this service until the online index is completed.
- Birmingham Central Library
- Bridgend Reference and Information Library
- City of Westminster Archives Centre
- Manchester City Library
- Newcastle City Library
- Plymouth Central Library
- The British Library -
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Contacting GRO for help
If researchers are having problems with the index they should contact the GRO at the following contacts:
Telephone: +44 300 123 1837
Email: unclearfiche@ips.gsi.gov.uk
Post Office: Contact Centre, GRO, PO Box 2, Southport, Merseyside PR8 2JD, UK. View Map
