Copying of Certificates in the UK

Copying of Birth, Death, Marriage and Civil Partnership Certificates and Marriage Registers: "5. The form of public registers and certificates are Crown copyright protected under section 163 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 so registers and certificates may not lawfully be reproduced without prior written consent. The Marriage Act and the Parochial Registers and Records Measure permits the making of certified copies of marriage certificates and the copying of the marriage registers by those persons listed in paragraph 3 above.
Definition of copying

6. For the purposes of this guidance, the term copying includes:

* Photocopying;
* Scanning;
* Filming;
* Reproduction in any other medium, including the placing of material on the Internet.

Forms of certificates as they appear in Regulations

7. The forms of certificates as prescribed in legislation may be copied provided that such copying:

a) is in accordance with guidance issued by HMSO on the reproduction of legislation; and

b) that no attempts are made to pass off such copies as official certificates or copies of official certificates.
Completed certificates

8. Government policy is not to authorise the copying of completed certificates except in the following circumstances:

a) by government departments and local government for the purposes of public administration;

b) by individuals or organisations for their own record keeping purposes, provided that the copies are not passed to others as evidence of birth, death or marriage;

c) within the context of judicial proceedings;

d) within works of genealogical research undertaken by or on behalf of the family concerned where the work in question will be given limited distribution only. For the avoidance of doubt, a work will NOT be regarded as being given limited distribution if it is placed on the Internet;

e) subject to prior formal written permission being granted by HMSO’s Licensing Division, for use within biographies or autobiographies or within academic, educational or historical works not covered by paragraph 8 (d).

f) by the transcribing and copying of the information contained in a certificate. The copyright does not subsist in the information on the certificate, but in the presentation of the information.

Other legal restrictions

9. The copying of certificates that contain personal details, and the use of information taken from such certificates, may, in addition, be subject to:

a) the need for any public body to operate within its statutory powers (the delegated powers rule); and

b) further legal protection for an individual’s rights to be afforded under the Human Rights Act 1998.

c) the Data Protection Act 1998.

Care should be taken to ensure that the above conditions are complied with.

Copying of birth, death, marriage and civil partnership certificates and marriage registers

5. The form of public registers and certificates are Crown copyright protected under section 163 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 so registers and certificates may not lawfully be reproduced without prior written consent. The Marriage Act and the Parochial Registers and Records Measure permits the making of certified copies of marriage certificates and the copying of the marriage registers by those persons listed in paragraph 3 above.

Definition of copying

6. For the purposes of this guidance, the term copying includes:

• Photocopying;
• Scanning;
• Filming;
• Reproduction in any other medium, including the placing of material on the Internet.

"NOTE THE DATA IS NOT COPYRIGHT BUT PRIVACY MUST BE RESPECTED