Scotland - Birth - 1855-Present

Scotland Scotland: Research Strategies for Locating Births, Marriages and Deaths

Here is a prioritized list of sources recommended for finding a birth between 1855 and the present.

Civil Registration: Birth Certificate
Civil registration is the government registration of births, marriages, and deaths beginning 1 January 1855. In these records you may find a child's name, sex, birth date and place, father's name and occupation, mother's name and maiden name, parents' marriage date and place (from 1861), and the name, residence, and relationship of a person present at the birth. Civil registration birth records cover most of the population and are indexed countrywide. Use the national index to identify and obtain a copy of a birth certificate.

Accessing the records
The general indexes, and the records for the first twenty years, are available on film at the Family History Library. They are listed in the FamilySearch Catalog under the place of Scotland and the topic of Civil Registration. The correct record title is "Registers of births, marriages, and deaths, 1855-1875, 1881, 1891; and general index, 1855-1956." Most of the records of marriages for 1855-1875 are indexed and can be searched in FamilySearch.org's historical records page; type "Scotland" and click on "Scotland Births and Baptisms 1564-1950".

Indexes and images of records are also available on the ScotlandsPeople web site (per-use fee-based).

Census Records
A census is a count and description of the population. Government census records were taken every ten years starting in 1841. The 1841 through 1901 censuses are currently available. They are especially valuable because they list the majority of the population and are available at many repositories. In these records you may find names of the members of a household, and each person's age, gender, marital status, relationship to the head of the household, occupation, address, and place of birth. Census records can provide clues that may lead you to other records.

Accessing the records
Microfilmed copies of the census records for 1841-1891, and some indexes, are available at the Family History Library and are listed in the library's catalog. Do a 'Place search' for your parish of interest and the topics of 'Census' and 'Census-Indexes.' Indexes may also be found under the county name rather than the parish.

Information about census records for a particular parish can be found in the Wiki on that parish's information page. In the search field above and to the left, type in the name of the parish and click on Search.

Online indexes are available through several websites including these:

ScotlandsPeople (complete 1841-1901 indexes and images; use by purchasing credits) Ancestry.co.uk (1841-1901 indexes only; annual membership fee-based website; available free at many libraries) Censusfinder (free; starting in alphabetical order by county, the list is short but growing) FreeCEN Scotland (free; almost every county has some years and some parishes indexed).

Civil Registration: Marriage Certificate
Civil registration is the government registration of births, marriages, and deaths beginning 1 January 1855. In these records you may find the names of the bride and groom; their ages (which you can use to determine a year of birth), marriage date and place, marital status, residences, occupations, fathers' names and occupations, and mothers' names and maiden names; whether they were married according to the forms of the Church of Scotland or another church; and the names of witnesses. Civil registration marriage records cover most of the population and are indexed countrywide. Use the general index to identify and obtain a copy of a marriage certificate.

Accessing the records
The general indexes, and the records for the first twenty years, are available on film at the Family History Library. They are listed in the FamilySearch Catalog under the place of Scotland and the topic of Civil Registration. The correct record title is "Registers of births, marriages, and deaths, 1855-1875, 1881, 1891; and general index, 1855-1956." Most of the records of marriages for 1855-1875 are indexed and can be searched in FamilySearch.org's historical records page; type "Scotland" and click "Scotland Marriages, 1561-1910".

Indexes and images of records are also available on the ScotlandsPeople web site (per-use fee-based).

A marriage record can provide an age, parents names, and a locality for your ancestor so you are better able to search for him/her in other records.

Civil registration: Death Certificate
Civil registration is the government registration of births, marriages, and deaths beginning 1 January 1855. In these records you may find the name of the deceased; his or her cause of death, death date and place, rank or profession, marital status, sex, age (from which you can estimate a year of birth), spouse's name, father's name and rank or profession, and mother's name and maiden name; and the signature, relationship, and residence of the informant. Civil registration death records cover most of the population and are indexed countrywide. Use the general index to identify and obtain a copy of a death certificate. Deaths were not indexed by FamilySearch.org.

Accessing the records
The general indexes, and the records for the first twenty years, are available on film at the Family History Library. They are listed in the Catalog/frameset_fhlc.asp FamilySearch Catalog under the place of Scotland and the topic of Civil Registration. The correct record title is "Registers of births, marriages, and deaths, 1855-1875, 1881, 1891; and general index, 1855-1956."

Indexes and images of records are also available on the ScotlandsPeople web site (per-use fee-based).

A death record can provide an age, parents names, and a locality for your ancestor so you are better able to search for him/her in other records.

Church records: Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland was the 'state' or 'established' church in Scotland from 1690 onward. It was Presbyterian in form. Individual church units are called parishes. Parish church records fall into two primary categories: parish registers and Kirk session records (see below).

Parish registers are the christenings or baptisms, marriages, and burials recorded in registers by church officials at the time of an event. Christening records usually give the name of the child, christening date, names of parents (including the mother's maiden name), place of residence, and father's occupation. Sometimes the child's birth date and the names of witnesses are recorded.

Accessing the records
The Family History Library does not have many post-1855 records of Church of Scotland parishes. Check the library's catalog for your place of interest to see what may be available.

Some church records are still in the hands of the churches. It may be necessary for you to engage the services of a researcher in Scotland and have them find and search the records for you. Click here for a list of researchers.

Church records: Nonconformist churches
Anyone who did not adhere to the teachings of the Established Church of Scotland was considered a nonconformist or a dissenter or one who absented self from attendance in the established church (Church of Scotland). Dissenters could also include people who belonged to religious organizations that broke from the Established church. Dissenter groups mostly kept separate records but often are irregularly kept. In these records you may find baptisms, marriages, minutes of meetings, communion rolls, and other records such as their version of kirk session records which can be of great value.

Accessing the records
Not many nonconformist church records are available on microfilm and therefore are not in the collection of the Family History Library. Those records that are will be listed in the library's catalog under the town or parish of interest and the topic of 'Church records.' Some of the few records available at the library are included in the various indexes to church records. Read about them in the article on Church Records.

Information about extant Kirk session records for a particular parish can be found in the Wiki on that parish's information page. FamilySearch in more recent years has digitized almost the entire National Archives of Scotland collections of kirk session records. Search Family History Library online catalog under the name of the parish, then click "Church Records" and then click "Kirk sessions records".

Most nonconformist church records are held in the collection of the National Archives of Scotland or other repositories in Scotland. Other repositories can include regional archives, denominational archives, or individual churches. Contact information for other archives may be found in the directory of the Scottish Archives Network.

If you find that the records are available at an archive, you will need to visit in person or you may wish to hire a professional researcher to search the records for you. The Remote Research page of the NAS website provides a list of researchers.

Return to the strategies page.