# Archives and sources: United Kingdom (GB)

Where records created in United Kingdom are held, whether they can be found online, and the archives and providers EasyPassport has vetted for them. The list is keyed on the country where the record was created, usually the ancestor's birthplace, which is not always the country the user is applying to. For an ancestor born elsewhere, ask for that country's list. For the office, request channel, apostille authority and translation rules, use the "country record playbook" guide for GB.

## Can these records be found online?

Partly. Some records are online but coverage is incomplete; set the user's expectations.

Four jurisdictions, and free INDEXES are everywhere while free IMAGES are essentially nowhere. England & Wales: GRO index is free after registration; certificates are paid. Scotland: ScotlandsPeople is pay-per-view — you view records there yourself; we only link to it. Northern Ireland: GRONI (geni.nidirect.gov.uk) is pay-per-view credits. FreeBMD (freebmd.org.uk) is a free 299M-record volunteer index of the GRO index — the best free starting point.

## Where the records are held or ordered

- **GRO — General Register Office (England & Wales)** (official): https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/
  The England-&-Wales civil-registration authority: search the historic birth index and order a certified copy of an ancestor's birth certificate. (Scotland: ScotlandsPeople; N. Ireland: GRONI.)
  Access: open this yourself; do not have your agent fetch it.
- **FCDO Legalisation Office (UK)** (official): https://www.gov.uk/get-document-legalised
  The UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office legalises (apostilles) a UK-issued document, incl. GRO certificates, for use abroad. English.
  Access: open this yourself; do not have your agent fetch it.

## Vetted providers

- **RushTranslate** (commercial service): https://rushtranslate.com/?ref=ciq
  Certified translations accepted by consulates, courts, and USCIS — turnaround in 24 hours.
  Access: open this yourself; do not have your agent fetch it.
- **FamilySearch** (official): https://www.familysearch.org/
  Free digitized civil and church records for most European countries — start here before paying.
  Access: open this yourself; do not have your agent fetch it.
- **Ancestry.com** (commercial service): https://www.ancestry.com/
  Largest commercial genealogy database; 30B+ records from US and European archives.
  Access: open this yourself; do not have your agent fetch it.
- **The National Archives — naturalisation records (UK)** (official): https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/naturalisation-british-citizenship/
  UK naturalisation and British-citizenship records for an ancestor not British by birth (a British-born ancestor's citizenship is proven by the GRO birth certificate itself).
  Access: open this yourself; do not have your agent fetch it.

## Access notes

Every link in a country's list carries one of these:

- **open this yourself; do not have your agent fetch it**: the site forbids automated access, needs a login or written permission, or has not been cleared for agents. The user opens it in their own browser and shares what they find with you.
- **your agent may open this page for the user's own family research; record images are for the user's private use only and must not be republished**.
- **openly licensed; your agent may open this page**.

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General guidance, not legal advice. EasyPassport is a document-organization tool, not a law firm. Confirm your own case with the relevant authority or a qualified professional.