Adoption: A Guide for Court Users

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Where can I get a copy of a certificate of death, marriage or civil partnership, or the child's full birth certificate if I do not have one?

If you were married in England or Wales, or the child was born in England or Wales, you can get a certified copy from:

• the office of the Registrar of Births, Marriages and Deaths for the district in which you were married, or the district in which the child was born. You can get the address from the telephone book.
• the Registrar General, ONS Southport, Smedley Hydro, Trafalgar Road, Birkdale, Southport, PR8 2HH.

  Telephone: 01 51 471 4830 – Adoptions
  Telephone: 01 51 471 4803 – Marriages
  Telephone: 01 51 471 4806 – Births
  (Please note that you cannot visit this office.)

If your civil partnership was registered in England or Wales, you should contact the registration authority where the civil partnership was registered.

You may be able to find the relevant register office/registration authority by visiting the General Register Office website at www.gro.gov.uk. You may also contact the Family Records Centre, 1 Myddleton Street, London, EC1 R UW.

If you were married or registered your civil partnership in Scotland or Northern Ireland, or the child you wish to adopt was born in either of these countries, you may obtain further information from:

• The General Register Office for Scotland, New Register House, 3 West Register Street, Edinburgh, EH1 3YT (Telephone: 01 31 334 0380); or
• The General Register Office, Oxford House, 49-55 Chichester Street, Belfast, BT1 4HL (Telephone: 028 90252000).

Note: You will have to pay a fee to receive a copy certificate. The office that you contact will tell you how much it is.