Delay getting certificates from the GRO ?

[monxton]

I ordered 5 certificates on 5th January - to date, I have received 3 of them.

They warned when I ordered the certificates that there is currently a long delay (they put this down to the success of "Who Do you Think you Are?"), which they estimated at 11 to 14 working days. We're well past that now.

What delays are other people experiencing at present? Should I be worried, or just sit tight?

[Patrisia]

I ordered 3 certs 10 working days ago and so far nothing!

I will join you in worrying at the end of the week

[Cornish Maid]

It is almost always faster to use the local Register Office, but don't forget, the GRO numbers are useless to a local RO.


Most local ROs are extremely helpful too and will often go to great lengths to find the correct cert - very useful if you have a choice of seven!

I have also "found" certs at local offices which never made it to the GRO, despite the GRO telling me stuffily that this was impossible.

My fastest turnaround has been: ordered about midnight on a Sunday, on-line, cert received Tuesday morning!

Happy Hunting.

[Peter Goodey]

I'm told that there are no delays at GRO if you order certificates over the counter at the FRC.

This raises another question - what timescale applies for orders sent by post to GRO? Does anyone know?

[johnpritt]

I input some orders in December and January, and have now received all of them. Time was 3-4 weeks, with some orders being split into multiple deliveries. Previously (i.e., before Christmas and before the BBC got everybody interested) they were averaging 2-3 weeks.

[ruthrrr]

An order I put in for two certificates took about 4 weeks to come through - I think they are experiencing problems because of the surge of interest in family history.

[monxton]

Curiouser and curiouser. One of them arrived today. It had been dispatched on 20/01, to the wrong address, returned to the GRO, who then posted it to me yesterday.

The wrong address was something like DX96491 (it has a sticker over it, so its hard to tell). I wonder where they sent the fifth certificate?

Oh, and of course, it wasn't the certificate I wanted. Some other William Maynard.

[Macphail]

I ordered four certificates in March or April, I received two of them a couple of weeks later, but the other two haven't arrived. My mistake is not noting down the order/ref number at the time otherwise I would have been able to chase the missing cert's

[Peter Goodey]

They have clearly gone missing somewhere. Wasn't the reference number quoted on the chit that came with the certificates that you did receive?

[josie]

I ordered 12 cerificates recieved 11 o.k with a note telling me i would recieve the last one between 5 to 10 days, when i still did not have it 3 weeks later i sent the GRO an email explaining that i had been charged for the cert but there was still no sign of it. they emailed me back with a promise of a new one, a week or so later i recieved a lovely hand writen long certifcate from them.