Council services
Copy certificates
A certified copy certificate is an exact copy of an original entry in a birth, death or marriage register. These can be used for any official or legal purposes.
If the birth, death or marriage occurred within the district of Wokingham then we can supply you with a certified copy of the event. If the event occurred outside of our district you will need to apply to the relevant Register Office or General Register Office who can supply certified copy certificates on any event that occurred within England and Wales. For Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland contact their own web site. For overseas, you will need to contact the relevant embassy in the U.K. Alternatively, the Overseas Registration Department at the General Register Office can contact the embassy on your behalf. Another alternative is to contact the Foreign and Commonwealth Office who may be able to help. A fee is charged.
You will also find The Citizens Advice web site is useful for additional information.
Before applying to us for a certified copy certificate we would recommend that you contact us beforehand to check that we do have the entry in one of our registers.
How to Apply to us for a Certified Copy Certificate
- On line. Select relevant application sub heading and complete the on line form. Once received, we will confirm whether we have the entry in one of our registers by email, giving you payment options. We cannot accept an on line payment.
- By telephone. You will need to supply card details for payment
- By post. Select relevant application sub heading to download either a PDF or 'Word' form for completion. Payment will need to be enclosed - cheque or postal order. No cash please.
- Come to the door. Please note that we may not be able to supply the certificate right away if we are busy. You therefore may need to wait for a little while. Telephoning beforehand is recommended.
Information required
- Reference number given by us if checked beforehand the entry is in one of our registers
- Full name of person to whom the certificate relates - Both people's names at time of ceremony if a marriage or civil partnership certificate
- If a church wedding, name of church and parish *
- Date of event
- Parent's names if for a full birth certificate - not essential but good as a cross reference
- Date of entry's birth if for a death certificate - not essential but good as a cross reference
- Applicant's name, address and contact details
- Your relationship to the person to whom the certificate relates
- Purpose for which the certificate is required
- Number of certificates required
* As there are 48 churches - some are now closed - within our district the search will be more difficult and time consuming without this information. We would have to go through each of the church's manual index. If you do not have the name of the church we will do our best to find the entry but please allow some extra time, especially when we are busy.
Cost
- If the register is still 'open' - this will be for at least 1 month after the event. The cost will be £5.00 for each certificate, inclusive of administration and postal costs
- If the register is closed and gone into archives, which will apply to the majority of applications, the cost will be £10.00 for each certificate, inclusive of administration and postal costs
Payment can be made by cheque - made payable to Wokingham Borough Council - or debit/credit card. American Express cards are not accepted. Payment by cash can be made if done in person.
Certificates for marriages in churches
A church register is handed over to the Register Office only once it has been completed. In some cases this may happen a few years after the event. If this is the case with your application we will be able to confirm this and provide contact details for you to apply directly to the church office.
