Marriage index

When a wedding takes place in England or Wales, the marriage is certified and recorded in the Marriage Index, which is collated by the General Register Office.

The Marriage Index is part of our dataset portfolio and contains all registered marriages from 1984 – 2005. This is in addition to the two other GRO datasets we hold; Birth Index and Death Index.

Marriage index search

Any tracing system which claims to be comprehensive should incorporate a Marriage Index search, as it holds key information which can be used to increase the productivity of tracing exercises.

Marriage Index records have many applications when attempting to trace people. A crucial piece of information held in Marriage Index records is the wife’s maiden name. If a tracing agent has the maiden name of a female, the Marriage Index search in our people tracing tool will allow them to ascertain her married name and will also automatically trace her present whereabouts. This can also be used in reverse to trace the wife’s family who will be able to further the tracing process.

Marriage records

The Marriage record search will assist in locating estranged partners, who can prove an invaluable source of information. Likewise, if there are children from a previous marriage, combining the Marriage Index and Birth Index searches can provide their names; locate the children and there is a strong possibility that they will know where the subject is.

Marriage Records are accessible through our Tracesmart Corporate online tracing system. Subscribe today or contact us for further information.