GuidedResearch:Why Can't I Find the Record - Wales Civil Registration Marriages

This page will give you additional guidance and resources to find civil marriage information for your ancestor. Use this page after first completing the Wales Civil Registration page. If researching before 1837, see the Wales Guided Research page.

Substitute Records
Substitute records may contain information about more than one event and are used when records for an event are not available. Records that are used to substitute for marriage events may not have been created at the time of the marriage. The accuracy of the record is contingent upon when the information was recorded. Search for information in multiple substitute records to confirm the accuracy of these records.

Virtual Genealogy Consultations
Schedule a free online consultation with a research specialist:

Ask the Community
Select a community research group where you can ask questions and receive free genealogy help.

Tips for finding marriages
Successfully finding marriage records in online databases depends on a few key points. Try the following search suggestions:
 * Registration District. To narrow results even more, include the registration district. Go to Finding the Registration District.
 * Add information. For common names, add more information to narrow the search such as approximate marriage date or father's name if known.
 * Spelling variations. Your ancestor's name may be misspelled. Search with spelling variations for the first and last name of your ancestor.
 * Search given name. Search by given name (leave out the last name) with the approximate date of marriage.
 * Search for bride. Search by the bride's name rather than the groom's name.
 * Know county. Because of the abundance of common names, knowing the county is important to narrow down the search. See Finding the Wales County or Parish of Origin to learn how.
 * Date range. Expand the date range of the search by 5 years.

Why the Record may not Exist
Records Start Mandatory marriage registration started in 1837. However, universal compliance did not occur until 1866. Before 1837, marriages and banns can be found in church records (mainly nonconformist records). Although the oldest marriage records date to 1538, most churches did not start recording marriages until the 1600s. Records Published by FamilySearch Collection coverage tables show the places and time periods of original records published by FamilySearch. For any FamilySearch collections you did not find your ancestor in, check the coverage table for gaps in the online collection. If the time period or location your ancestor lived in is missing from the collection, it may require searches in records found at original repository or finding substitute records for the event.

Records Destroyed Civil registration records are generally complete.
 * Wales Marriages, Coverage Table