BMD Certs
 

For or against GRO PDF vs normal certificate

I'm going to buy a few certificates for my direct line. Some things I already know but others I only have the year.

Buying a GRO PDF is cheaper but I'm wondering if I'll regret it later on.

I know this is my decision but I'm asking for opinions in case I haven't thought of something. For not so close family I am happy to buy the PDF to get the information.

As long as you don't want the record for a legal purpose then the pdf is no different to a normal cert from the GRO.

Of course in general a GRO certificate (either sort) is potentially not as good as an image copy of a cert from a local record office, but I guess that's too complex/expensive/slow from Australia!

The price is 11 pounds for a full cert from the GRO or a local office so cost is only cheaper if I buy the PDF.

It is 3 weeks or more for delivery for normal mail.

You have a good point about the image copies though. I wonder if I can ask for that for online ordering. It's been so long since I've bought certificates

Doesn’t always work to get from the local office. I ordered some marriage certs from the GRO for a group project I was working on. All bar one had signatures that were from the actual people, 3 marriages for one person. Confirmed two were the same person but the third was typed, different registration districts. So a friend decided to approach the local office and asked for a scanned copy of the original not a typed up one. To be honest they didn’t seem to understand what he meant, kept saying there was no way he could get the original. I think they thought he wanted the one that the married couple would have had. When it came, typed as the other one. So £11 wasted.

hmmm Staffordshire are doing themselves out of business. You now need to know the name of the hospital or address where births and deaths occurred.

I know when my Grandma was born but not exactly where, so I need to go via the GRO. I can't believe I don't have her birth certificate, unless it in in my Grandad's suitcase with lots of his photos. I have about 5 death certificates for her, no idea why that many were ordered.

These days I go for the PDF as it usually has all the info I need.

When Dad died we needed certs for the banks, Centrelink, Telstra, etc, etc. That might be why you have so many.

I just got OH to open the suitcase and found my 2g grandma's baptism certificate from 1857, her husband's will, her SIL's will, other birth certificates. Letters from or to people whose direct descendants wont reply to messages and my 2g grandfather bought a pianoforte in 1897 plus lots of photos, most of which I have already scanned.

Just no grandma's birth certificate. :(

Most likely, I was a baby when she died. I'm guessing that they only showed the death cert though, to still have so many original copies.

Are you using this site Toni?

http://www.staffordshirebmd.org.uk/birthsearch.php

I doubt very much if you have to fill it all in. The GRO site has boxes that don’t all have to be filled in. If you knew all of that you wouldn’t need the cert. The reference number, where the event took place and name ought to be enough.
I doubt you’d get a scanned image anyway. All Staffs certs are now held centrally at Newcastle under Lyme. I used to be able to go to my local office in Burton and order what I wanted, or write to them but not anymore