Lancashire has developed a centre to hold all full registers and supply copy certificates for events registered in Accrington, Burnley, Chorley, Clitheroe, Fleetwood, Lancaster, Lytham, Ormskirk, Pendle, Preston and Rawtenstall.

Please note: We do not have the Registers for events occurring outside these areas, and therefore for certificates for events in Blackburn, Blackpool and other surrounding areas, you should contact the appropriate Registration District.

For copy certificates for events that took place outside Lancashire a central copy of all registrations is held by the General Register Office (GRO) and a central index is held at the Family Records Centre (FRC) in London. The general register of births, marriages and deaths started in 1837. The original registration records are not open to the public but you can get copies of the entries.

The births, marriages and deaths of British Citizens overseas are also held by the General Register Office. These include events registered at British Consulates, British High Commissions and some records registered by the armed forces. In some instances these records go back further than 1837. Central indexes to these records are kept at the Family Records Centre.

Legal adoption started in 1927. These are held by the General Register Office at its base in Southport. Indexes to adoption are kept in the Family Record Centre.