To apply for a birth, death, marriage or civil partnership certificate, the event must have taken place in Lincolnshire. The event is where the birth, death, marriage or civil partnership took place. Where the event was registered may be different to where the event took place.
If the event occurred outside of Lincolnshire (including North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire), you must apply to the correct district or the General Register Office.
Applicants need to ensure they provide as much information as possible for us to locate the correct entry and issue a certificate.
Birth certificates
To apply for a full certified copy of a birth record we need to know:
- full name of the child (as registered at birth)
- date of birth
- place of birth (such as hospital or home address)
- parents' names (as shown on the original registration).
If a person was adopted, the original birth certificate can no longer be used for official use, such as a passport application. To obtain the legal birth or adoption record, contact the General Register Office on 0300 123 1837.
Death certificates
To apply for a certified copy of a death record we need to know:
- the deceased's full name
- their date of death
- where the person died
Marriage certificates or civil partnership certificates
To apply for a certified copy of a marriage or civil partnership record we need to know:
- full names of both parties at the time of the marriage or civil partnership
- date of the event
- specific place of marriage or civil partnership (such as venue or church)
Priority service
We will search our records and dispatch your certificate the next working day after receiving your application, Monday to Friday (excluding bank and public holidays).
Please note this is not a next day delivery service.
Priority certificates cost £38.50 for each copy issued.
Certificates will be posted using first class postage or Royal Mail Special Delivery (further fees will apply for this option). Any additional fees will be applied during the ordering process.
Standard service
We will search our records and dispatch your certificate within 10 working days of receiving your application, Monday to Friday (excluding bank and public holidays).
Standard certificates cost £12.50 for each copy issued.
We will send your certificate(s) to you using second class postage.
International orders
There will be a fee applicable for certificates posted to international destinations. Fees will be applied during the ordering process.
Refunds
Please note that we will retain an administrative fee of £4 from all application which require a refund. This includes, but is not limited to:
- where an application results in no trace of the record, or
- where insufficient information has been provided for a certificate to be issued
Order a certificate
You can apply for certificates online using a credit or debit card. We are unable to accept payments by cheque or postal order.
Registrations before 1837
We do not hold records for events before 1 July 1837. If the event took place in Lincolnshire before 1 July 1837, find out more on the Lincolnshire archives website.
Certificate not received
Copy certificates
Priority Orders
We aim to dispatch your certificate the next working day after receiving your application.
If more than 7 days have passed since you applied, you can request an investigation.
Standard orders
We aim to dispatch your certificate within 10 working days of receiving your application.
If more than 28 days have passed since you applied, you can request an investigation.
Pre-ordered certificates
If you recently had a ceremony and pre-ordered a certificate, we aim to post all certificates within 7 working days of the ceremony.
If more than 14 days have passed since your ceremony, you can request an investigation.
What will happen next
We will investigate your request and contact you to arrange replacement certificates where needed. Any lost certificates will be voided.
Certificate corrections
Corrections to certificates can only be made when information given during registration is wrong.
You cannot apply for a correction to show new information if circumstances change.
A correction can only proceed when we are sure that an error exists and documentary evidence showing the correct information may need to be produced for the correction to be authorised.
The local Register Office can authorise minor mistakes in occupations, birthplaces or addresses, but more complex errors need the authority of the Registrar General.
- the fee for considering if a correction can be authorised locally is £83
- if the correction needs the authority of the Registrar General, the fee is £99
You will be advised of the procedure and how the correction will be made, and you will also be told what documentary evidence will be needed.
What happens next?
We will review the case to see if it meets the criteria for a correction and request any evidence to support the correction.
We will update you on the next steps required and liaise with you to resolve the matter as soon as possible.
Once the correction has been made, you can apply for copies of the certificate of the corrected entry online.