The official census for 1841-1891 in association with The National Archives
With Ancestry.co.uk, you can search the complete English and Welsh Birth, Marriage & Death Indexes from the introduction of Civil Registration in 1837 all the way up to 2005 for FREE. And when you take out a FREE 14 day trial, you'll be able to take your search even further.
So start searching now. Who knows what you'll find?
the Birth, Marriage and Death (BMD) Indexes
With Ancestry.co.uk, you can search three different sets of Birth, Marriage and Death Indexes for England and Wales.
Complete BMD Indexes 1837-1983
These are fully complete for the years 1837- 1983 for England and Wales. Search these Indexes and your results will be by name range (based on first and last names on the page of the Index).
You'll be taken to the relevant Index page - select 'View Image' and you'll be able to search the page yourself for your ancestor.
Partial FreeBMD Indexes 1837-1983
These Indexes have been fully transcribed from 1837 to around 1912 - and are being added to on an ongoing basis. So if you're looking for ancestors within these dates, you'll be able to find an individual match, rather than an Index page of names. Click on 'View Record' and you'll be able to view the original page.
Complete BMD Indexes 1984-2005
From 1984 onwards, paper based Birth, Marriage and Death Indexes for England and Wales were replaced by digital based ones. All records are fully transcribed, so you'll find an individual match. Click on 'View Record' and you'll be able to view the record details, instead of images.
tips
- Always search from the individual Birth, Marriage and Death Indexes (you'll find a list here), rather than doing a general search. You can then refine your search by filling in all the details you know.
- Not ticking the "Exact" box will give you a larger number of potential matches.
- Remember some names may have been transcribed incorrectly. If you're not sure how a name is spelt, just enter the first three letters followed by an asterisk (*).
- When entering dates of births, marriages or deaths, it's best to leave a little leeway, as the information given is not always correct.
- Only tick the "Exact" box on information that you're sure about.
- Found an entry that's been transcribed incorrectly? Click on 'Comments and Corrections' to notify us by email. We action all corrections every two weeks.