Search british nationals married overseas 1818-2005
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These records provide details of marriages of British citizens that have taken place abroad between 1818 and 2005.
If you have a relative or ancestor who was married overseas, but was still classed as a British citizen at the time of the marriage, then it is quite possible that the British Consul or the UK High Commission in the relevant jurisdiction would have been notified of the marriage, allowing you to find the record within the GRO's Consular indices.
There are, however, some caveats to this - find out more here.
These records are fully name indexed which makes finding your ancestors' overseas marriages so much simpler. Previously you had to search for both spouses separately and match them up yourself as the records were not name-indexed. Now, not only can you perform just one search, we will actually match up your ancestors' marriage records, providing you with one definite marriage match, or a list of possible matches.
Please bear in mind the following when searching these records: where a place has not been assigned to 'region', it will be returned in all results where a region is selected. For example, selecting Channel Islands as a region will produce genuine Channel Islands results plus any entries where the place is unassigned.
Find out more about these records in our knowledge base.
Can't find who you're looking for? Click the 'search tips' link above for helpful advice on searching these records.
Search tips
Your search will return a list of individual names and how many credits you will use to view each record.
Viewing the results will incur a cost of five credits for each of the individual entries, unless you have a subscription.
How to search the records
You must enter a last name in the first person search; entering a first name is optional. In the spouse search fields, you can enter a first name, last name, both or neither. You can also search by the region in which you believe the marriage took place.
If you know both partners' names:
Enter both partners' names in the search box. When you click 'search', we will connect both partners, which means you will only have to search once, not twice.
Tip: It is best to start with minimal information and then narrow your search by clicking the link marked 'redefine your search'.
If you don't know both partners' names:
Searching for one partner will find a list of all the possible matches. View a record to see the list of each person's possible spouse matches.
If there are over 2,000 entries, you will be asked to refine your search.
How your results will be presented
If you enter spouse details in your search, your results will include a 'Matched' column. There are three levels of match:
= definite marriage match. We have found a pre-matched record that matches the spouse details entered.
= the record matches the search criteria entered. For example, the main person and spouse searched for appear on the same page but they have not been pre-matched. This will generally be the case for pre-1912 records where pre-matching is not normally possible.
= this is essentially the same as but the people matched are of the same gender. For example, if you search for a Yates marrying a Taylor, if Robert Taylor and Mark Yates are found on the same page, this will be given a matching.
Your search results will tell you the following details of the marriage: place, country, year of registration, page number, spouse's last name (if after 1912) and the record source, e.g., GRO Marriages Abroad Indices (1995 to 2005).
If you can't find who you're looking for, following these simple steps could solve the problem:
- Try leaving the 'region' field blank to start with. Your ancestors may not have married in the region you think, so selecting this region will not lead you to your ancestors.
- Don't select a year range. The year you think your ancestors married may not be accurate, so not specifying a date span could produce the results you need.
- Always keep the 'Include variants' boxes ticked. Your ancestors' names may be spelled differently to how you think, so the variants search will provide you with results you may not otherwise have received.