Family research information from the Register Office

If a member of your family was born, married or died in the London Borough of Richmond, it is possible that we have records which will assist with your family history research.

Obtaining records

The Register Office holds records of all births, deaths and marriages occurring in the borough since 1837.  

We are unable to respond to written enquiries to assist with your family history research, all enquiries must be made via the apply for a replacement certificate form, and payment must also be made at the time of application.

Please note:

• The birth or death is registered in the area it took place, regardless of where the family were living at the time.
• Civil registration commenced in this country in 1837 (although it was not legally enforceable until 1875). For events before this date you may find the information you need in church records, some of which have been indexed and are included in the International Genealogical Index (IGI) which can be found online at www.familysearch.org.
• The registers that are held in the Register Office hold records of births, marriages and deaths only. The information in the registers is only available as a certified copy of the register entry, on payment of the statutory fee of £11 per copy. We are unable to give information from the entry over the phone or in response to a written enquiry.
• You must be able to give the date and location of the event in order for us to be able to search for an entry in the register.
• If you know the date when the birth, death or marriage took place, but not the actual place, you can find this out from the General Register Office.
• We are not able to make a general search through our indexes without a specific date.  It is possible for you to search in person, by appointment with the Register Office. There is a fee for this service.
• The registers held in this office cover the areas now within the London Borough of Richmond Upon Thames, namely Richmond, Twickenham, Whitton, Hampton, Barnes, Mortlake, Kew and Ham.