Copy certificates

You can order copy certificates for births, deaths, marriages and civil partnerships that took place in the borough of Reading only. We offer both standard and priority services, with options for delivery or collection.

Standard service – £12.50 per certificate

• Certificates are issued within 15 working days, excludes bank holidays and weekends
• Sent via second class post (included in the price)
• No tracking is included
• We do not accept responsibility for items lost or delayed in the post

Priority service – £38.50 per certificate

• Certificates are issued within 24 hours of receipt, excludes bank holidays and weekends
• Sent via first class post (included in the price)
• No tracking is included
• We do not accept responsibility for items lost or delayed in the post

Please note: once the certificates have been collected from our office by Royal Mail, they are in their custody. Therefore, we are unable to refund or reissue any replacement certificates should they fail to be delivered. If your certificate is lost in the post, you will need to contact Royal Mail directly.

You can choose to add Royal Mail Signed For delivery for an additional £4.

Collection option

• Certificates can be collected in person from our Henley Road office in Caversham only
• You will be notified when your certificate is ready for collection

Historical records

We can issue copy certificates for events that took place in Reading and are recorded as far back as 1837.

If a record of the certificate cannot be found or identified, the certificate fee will be refunded.

Please note: We can only issue certificates for events that occurred within the Reading registration district. For adoption or stillbirth certificates, please contact the General Register Office (GRO) at General Register Office – Online Ordering Service – Login