How to find your grandparents' marriage certificate

In the UK and Ireland, marriage certificates typically record: 

• Full names of both spouses 
• Ages at the time of marriage 
• Occupations 
• Fathers’ names and occupations 
• Residences at the time of marriage 
• Date, place, and officiant of the marriage 
• Witnesses 

This information is important when tracing your family tree back through the generations. If you’ve got a question mark over a person or an event within your tree, a marriage record can unlock the detail you need to answer it. You may discover the church that your 2x great-grandparents were married in, or perhaps who was present at their ceremony.  

You may unlock details beyond those of the marriage itself. You may discover an ancestor’s occupation or home address – this information can be a springboard for further research.  

The first step in tracking down your grandparents’ marriage certificate is to explore marriage indexes and parish registers, which have been digitised and made available to search online.  

On Findmypast, you’ll find millions of marriage records from England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and beyond. These include both civil and church records, some dating back centuries. 

England and Wales 

Civil registration began in 1837. Indexes can give you the details you need to order certificates from the General Register Office (GRO). English and Welsh parish records go back as far as the 1500s. 

Scotland 

Civil registration began in 1855. Scottish marriage records include rich detail, with both parents’ names included. 

Ireland and Northern Ireland 

Civil marriage records began in 1845 for non-Catholic marriages and 1864 for all others, while Irish parish registers can take you further back. 

If your ancestors married before civil registration began in the 19th century, or in a parish where church records survive, parish registers may be your best source.  

These can show the names of the couple, the date of marriage, and sometimes useful additional notes, such as whether they were widowed or from another parish. 

If you need the official marriage certificate - perhaps for legal reasons, or simply to keep a copy in your family archive - you can order one from: 

• General Register Office (England and Wales) 
• ScotlandsPeople (Scotland) 
• General Register Office Northern Ireland (GRONI) 
• General Register Office (Ireland) 

Having the exact details from an online index search will make ordering a birth certificate much quicker. 

Taking the right approach to your research will make tracking down a marriage certificate straightforward. Be sure to:  

• Work with what you know. Pinpoint an approximate date and location of marriage from family stories, census records, or birth certificates of their children, and use this to search far and wide. 
• Consider name variations. Surnames may be spelled differently, and middle names sometimes appear or disappear between records. 
• Look at witnesses. If you find a marriage certificate, witnesses are often siblings or close friends, providing you with new research leads. 
• Search widely. If you can’t find the record in the expected parish, try nearby parishes or civil districts. Couples often married in the bride’s home parish or a neighbouring church. 

By finding your grandparents’ marriage certificate, you’re not only uncovering a key milestone in your family history - you're opening a door to further discoveries. Delve deeper into your past to discover more about your great-grandparents, their community, and the world they lived in.