United Kingdom
UK Public Records: Certificates, Freedom of Information and Land Registry Search
Independently fact-checked against primary sources (last audited September 28, 2026). · 6 primary sources cited on this page. How we verify our legal content
UK public records cover three distinct official services: ordering a birth, marriage or death certificate, requesting information a public body holds under freedom of information law, and searching who owns a property, and each one works differently in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
What this section covers
This section explains how to get an official record from a UK government body, as opposed to controlling data an organisation holds about you (covered in data privacy) or changing your own documents (covered in family law). Three pages make up the section:
- Birth, marriage and death certificates: how to order a copy, the registration deadlines, and the Tell Us Once gap in Northern Ireland.
- Freedom of information requests: FOIA, FOISA and EIR, the 20 working day limit, cost limits, and how to complain if refused.
- Land registry search: who owns a property, the electoral register's open and full versions, and searching for a will or grant of probate.
Comparing the three nations
| England and Wales | Scotland | Northern Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birth registration deadline | 42 days | 21 days | 42 days |
| Death registration deadline | 5 days | 8 days | 5 days |
| Standard certificate fee | 12.50 pounds | 12 pounds | 15 pounds from GRONI (one free short birth certificate when a birth is registered) |
| Governing freedom of information Act | Freedom of Information Act 2000 | Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 | Freedom of Information Act 2000 |
| FOI cost limit before an authority may refuse | 600 pounds central government, 450 pounds other bodies | 600 pounds flat | 600 pounds central government, 450 pounds other bodies |
| Land registry search fee | 7 pounds, instant online | 3 pounds plus VAT for the title sheet showing the owner (free basic search for prices and boundaries); 30 pounds plus VAT if a manual search is needed | 5 to 51 pounds depending on the Land Registry document; no online search |
Every figure in this table is drawn from, and matches, the detailed page for that topic. See the linked pages above for the sourcing, the statute or regulation behind each figure, and the nuances a flat comparison table cannot capture, such as Northern Ireland's Tell Us Once gap or Scotland's dual land register.
Related pages
- Subject access request: request your own personal data from an organisation, a different right from freedom of information.
- Criminal record check and DBS check: a different kind of official record check, run through the Disclosure and Barring Service rather than FOI or a land or vital-records register.
- The probate process: what happens after a grant of probate is found, distinct from the search itself covered on the land registry search page.
- Deed poll: changing your own name, rather than ordering a copy of an existing certificate.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there one UK-wide service for public records?
No. Certificates and land registry searches are run separately in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, with different fees; freedom of information runs under one Act for England, Wales and Northern Ireland and a separate Act in Scotland.
Which nation has the shortest deadline to register a birth or death?
Scotland has the shortest birth registration deadline, 21 days, against 42 days in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. For deaths, England, Wales and Northern Ireland are shorter, at 5 days, against 8 days in Scotland.
Can I search who owns a property online everywhere in the UK?
No. England and Wales and Scotland both offer an online search, for 7 pounds and 3 pounds plus VAT respectively. Northern Ireland has no public online land registry search at all.
Updates
Independently fact-checked against the cited primary sources
The Law Behind This Article
This article rests on the statutory provisions below, held in our own legal record and retrieved from the official source. Tap a section to read the operative text.
Freedom of Information Act 2000
s. 10Time for compliance with request.In forcecited in 2 of our articles
(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), a public authority must comply with section 1(1) promptly and in any event not later than the twentieth working day following the date of receipt. (2) Where the authority has given a fees notice to the applicant and the fee is paid in accordance with section 9(2), the working days in the period beginning with the day on which the fees notice is given to the applicant and ending with the day on which the fee is received by the authority are to be disregarded in calculating for the purposes of subsection (1) the twentieth working day following the date of receipt. (3) If, and to the extent that— (a) section 1(1)(a) would not apply if the condition in section 2(1)(b) were satisfied, or (b) section 1(1)(b) would not apply if the condition in section 2(2)(b) were satisfied, the public authority need not comply with section 1(1)(a) or (b) until such time as is reasonable in the circumstances; but this subsection does not affect the time by which any notice under section 17(1) must be given.
Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-08-14 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at legislation.gov.uk
Also relied on in: Freedom of Information Request UK: FOIA, FOISA and EIR Explained
Search our record of UK legislation — retrieved from legislation.gov.uk →
Sources and References
- Register a birth(gov.uk).gov
- Order a copy of a birth, death, marriage or civil partnership certificate(gov.uk).gov
- Freedom of Information Act 2000, section 10(legislation.gov.uk).gov
- Search for property information from HM Land Registry(gov.uk).gov
- Services fees (Registers of Scotland)(kb.ros.gov.uk).gov
- Searching the land registry (Northern Ireland)(nidirect.gov.uk).gov