Southampton certificates and other services - Terms and conditions of acceptance

Requests for certificates will be administered by the Council's Register Office, who will administer this under the provisions of the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953.

We can only supply certificates for events that took place within the Southampton City boundary since 1837.

Offices that surround our boundaries are Hampshire, Portsmouth, Bournemouth and Isle of Wight. If the event took place in any of these areas, you would need to apply to the respective Register Office as we do not hold the records. 

Please note that although initially registered under Southampton, some records (including Eastleigh) were transferred to Hampshire, so you may need to check with us before applying.

Your application will need to include:

• A day-time contact number so that we may contact you if there is a problem with locating the record or your payment method
• As much information as possible about the certificate you require. If you are unsure of the date, a maximum of five years will be searched in our indexes around the year you specify

Birth certificates where the date of birth is less than 50 years prior to the date of application

If you are applying for a birth certificate where the date of birth is less than 50 years prior to the date of application, it is essential that you provide:

• The person’s forename and surname at birth
• Their date of birth
• Place of birth
• Father’s forename and surname (if stated on the birth entry)
• Mother’s forename surname and maiden name (if applicable)

If this information is not provided, we will not be able to issue the certificate.

Death certificates where the age at death is less than 16 years and the death occurred less than 50 years prior to the application

If you are applying for a death certificate where the age at death is less than 16 years, and the death occurred less than 50 years prior to the application, we require the:

• Forename and surname of the deceased
• Date of death
• Age at death
• Place of death/last known address
• Father’s forename and surname (if stated on the death entry)
• Mother’s forename and surname

If this information is not provided, we will not be able to issue the certificate.

Fees and services

Please note that there is an additional charge of £10 for a search up to 10 years.

In all cases, the priority fee will be retained, as the application has still been processed. This includes applications received for events that took place outside our area.

An application cannot be processed before the full fee has been received.

Standard Service certificates

These are issued and usually ready for posting out by second class post within 15 working days. If you need your certificate sooner, you should choose the Priority Service. There is no collection service available with the Standard Service option.

Priority Service certificates

Only Priority Service certificates have the option for a collection from the Register office. Collection point is Reception, Ground Floor, 6a Bugle Street, Southampton, SO14 2AJ. This is available Monday to Friday between 10.30am -2.30pm only (not including bank holidays).

Orders received before 3pm will be available to collect the next working day at the times specified above.

Orders received after 3pm will be available for collection after two working days at the times specified above. You will need to bring your ID and confirm details of the application when collecting.

Orders not collected after five working days of the application will be placed in the 2nd Class post for delivery.

By post – Certificates will be posted out by first class post, the next working day. For an additional £3.50 (UK deliveries only), you can tick the 'signed for' option for a secure and tracked delivery (tracking numbers available on request). This does not mean that you will receive your certificate the next working day as you will need to allow extra time for the postal service to deliver this to you. 

In all cases, the priority fee will be retained. This is because the service (search) you requested would have been provided.

If your certificate does not arrive

Certificates are sent out via 1st and 2nd Class Royal Mail postage for free in the UK. We also offer 'signed for' (tracked) and international (tracked) postage at an additional cost.

If your certificate does not arrive, you should firstly email registrars@southampton.gov.uk to confirm that your certificate order has been received, completed and the certificate(s) posted out to you.

If the certificate goes missing in the post, you will need to pay for a new one.

You will need to use the standard Royal Mail compensation scheme for lost or damaged items. If you choose not to use the ‘signed for’ option, compensation from Royal Mail will not cover any losses.

Payment for certificates must be made at the time of the request. Refunds will not be issued if your certificate details do not match what you expect.

Southampton City Council will not be held liable for any loss, damage or expense as a result of delays or failure to provide certificates arising from circumstances beyond the Council's reasonable control. Certificates not received must be notified to this office within two months of the original order date.

This includes, without limitation, acts of God or any of the following acts of third parties:

• Bad weather conditions
• Civil commotion
• Earthquake
• Explosion
• Fire
• Flood
• Industrial action
• Lockouts
• Postal or courier services
• Power failure
• Strikes
• Technical failure
• Terrorist attack
• The incorrect postal address has been supplied
• War

Your information

Southampton City Council will not use your information for any other purpose or share with any third parties unless it is required to do so by rule of law.

If you have any queries on how your information is used please contact Southampton Register Office: