Applying for a certificate

Download application forms:

Making an application

If the event occurred within the Royal Borough and you would like to obtain a certified copy of a certificate from this office then you have three options:

Application in person

You may pay by cash or credit/debit card here at the Kensington and Chelsea Register Office. We are not able to accept American Express.

Application by post

If your application is made from within the UK then you should enclose a letter/application form containing all the relevant details, a cheque or postal order made payable to ‘R.B.K.& C.’ and a stamped addressed envelope. Please do not send cash by post. If you are applying by post from outside the UK then you may only pay by cheque, drawn on a bank with branches in the UK or by international money order, in pounds sterling, made payable to ‘R.B.K.& C.’

Application by telephone

You should contact this office on 020 7361 4100 (international dialling code: 0044) during our opening hours. We are not able to accept American Express.

With a standard application, certificates will be available for collection or posting at 09.00 the next working day.

If you have an urgent application, we have a same day service whereby certificates may be collected within one hour of ordering upon payment of an additional search fee of £10.00.

Our opening hours for applications in person and by telephone are 09.00 - 16.00 Monday to Friday (09.00 - 19.00 Thurs).

Fees

Certificate Fee
Birth, Death, Marriage and Civil Partnership Certificates (when issued on the day of registration) £3.50
Short Birth Certificates (when issued after the day of registration but from a register currently in use) £7.00
Standard Birth, Death and Marriage Certificates (when issued after the day of registration but from a register currently in use) £7.00
Short Birth Certificates (when issued from a vault deposited register) £9.00
Standard Birth, Death and Marriage Certificates (when issued from a vault deposited register) £9.00
Civil Partnership Certificates (when issued after the date of registration) £9.00
Same day service fee £10.00

As a rule of thumb only the most recent events are recorded in current registers, all other events are recorded in registers that have been completed and archived in the vaults. If you are in doubt as to which fee will apply to your application then please feel free to contact this office and a member of staff will be happy to advise you.

The full postal address for all correspondence and applications is:

The Kensington and Chelsea Register Office
Chelsea Old Town Hall
Kings Road
Chelsea
London  SW3 5EE


To help us process your application as quickly as possible:

Give us as much information as possible

The more information you give us about the register entry of which you need a copy, the better. Please note that General Register Office references are different to those held locally, and applications quoting the GRO reference will be returned unsearched.

However we cannot undertake searches of an indefinite or protracted nature. Usually a search in the index, covering a period not exceeding five years, will be made but only where accurate details of the particular registration have been given. If a wider search is required it may be necessary for you to undertake a General Search here at the Chelsea Register Office.

Send separate cheques for multiple certificate requests

If you are making applications for multiple certificates (for example, one birth and two marriage certificates) then it will speed the administration if you can include a separate cheque for each and every application. If we are unable to find an entry we will return your unused cheques to you.

Always include a stamped addressed envelope for return

This guarantees the correct address and postcode are on the envelope, and ensures your application does not go astray.

The Same Day Service takes priority

Please bear in mind that family research will not take priority over more urgent applications such as birth certificates for passport applications, marriage certificates for legal purposes, etc. unless you are using our same day service. A standard ancestral research application can sometimes take as long as three weeks to process.