Somerset House logo
Public search room at the Probate Registry Somerset House London c1901

Public Records

Somerset House no longer holds public records such as wills and birth certificates.

If you are searching for such records, please find contact details below which we hope will be of use:

Births, Marriages & Death Certificates

General Register Office (GRO)
PO Box 2
Southport, Merseyside
PR8 2JD

https://www.gov.uk/general-register-office

Tel: 0300 123 1837

Wills (pre-1858), & Government & Military Records (pre-1971)

The National Archives
Ruskin Avenue
Kew
Richmond
Surrey
TW9 4DU

nationalarchives.gov.uk

Tel: +44 (0)20 8876 3444

Wills (after 1858)

The Probate Department of the Principal Registry of the Family Division
First Avenue House
42-49 High Holborn, London
WC1V 6NP

gov.uk/wills-probate-inheritance/searching-for-probate-records

Tel:+44 (0) 207 421 8509

Divorce & Adoption

Family Proceedings Department
Registry of the Family Division
First Avenue House
42-49 High Holborn, London
WC1V 6NP

gov.uk/copy-decree-absolute-final-order

gov.uk/adoption-records

Tel: +44 (0)20 7947 6000

Name Tracing

Society of Genealogists
14 Charterhouse Buildings
London
EC1M 7BA

www.sog.org.uk

Tel: +44 (0)20 7251 8799