Copy certificates

A birth, death or marriage entry is held in Register Office in the district where the event took place. If the event you are looking for took place in a district other than in Slough, you should contact the relevant registration district, who will be able to assist you.

If you are requesting a copy of a marriage certificate where the marriage took place in a religious building fairly recently, then we may not yet have a deposited register from the church / temple. In these cases you should request your copy certificate from the church or temple where the ceremony took place. We will be able to advise you whether you need to do this when you apply for your copy certificate.

How can I get a copy of a certificate?

By post

Your letter should contain the following information for each certificate being applied for:

• Name of the person (and the name of their partner in the case of a marriage/civil partnership).
• Date and type of the event (Birth/Death/Marriage/Civil Partnership).
• Place of birth or death.
• For a marriage/civil partnership, the location where the ceremony took place. For example the church/ register office/approved premise  (eg: hotel).

In person

You can apply in person at our office during our normal opening hours - see contact us for details.

By telephone

You can contact us by telephone  to order a copy certificate.

How much will it cost?

• Copies of birth, death and marriage certificates, on the day of registration, cost £4 each. 
• Copies of certificates from current registers after the day of registration cost £7. 
• Copies of certificates from completed registers cost £10. 
• Copies of civil partnership certificates cost £4 for all certificates ordered on the day the partnership is signed. Any certificate ordered after this will cost £10.

How can I pay?

All copy certificates must be paid for before we issue them.

Payment can be made by:

• cash (please do not send cash through the post)
• credit or debit card (this method should only be used for telephone or in person requests - please do not send any financial details by post)
• Postal Orders (payable to Slough Borough Council).

Please be aware that Slough Borough Council is not liable for any certificates that are delayed or lost in the post.

How long will it take?

Standard Service 
Certificates are available for collection within 5 working days of the application being made. You can either collect your certificate or we can post it to you. If we post the certificate to you, an additional £2.60 administration charge will be made. Payment is required before any certificate can be issued. All certificates will be posted by recorded delivery.

Premium Service
Copies of certificates from completed registers are issued and available for collection within 24 hours of the application being made. Please note there is an additional fee of £20 for the premium service which is in addition to the statutory fee for the certificate. You can either collect your certificate or we can post it to you. If we post the certificate to you, a further £2.60 administration charge will be made. All certificates will be posted by recorded delivery. Payment is required before any certificate can be issued.

Fees as of February 2018.

General Register Office 
Alternatively you can get copies of birth, death and marriage certificates from the General Register Office.

Family History

What is a personal search?

A personal search is a facility where you are able to visit the Register Office and look at the indexes only not the registers.

This facility costs a statutory fee of £18 and covers six hours of searching. This need not be a continuous number of hours ie: you could come to the Register Office on more than one day totalling six hours.

You are not able to view the actual registers, however you are able to ask the Superintendent Registrar to confirm that you have found the entry / entries you are looking for and you are able to purchase as many certificates as you wish.

For further details contact Slough Register Office.