The Identity and Passport Service (IPS) builds on the strong foundations of the UK Passport Service to provide passport services for British citizens resident in the UK.

The General Register Office (GRO) became part of IPS on 1 April 2008. GRO oversees the system of civil registration  in England and Wales, administering the marriage laws and securing the provision of an efficient and effective system for the registration of births, stillbirths, adoptions, civil partnerships, marriages and deaths. Registering life events in England and Wales.

GRO provides advice and guidance on registration matters to the public, registrars, local authorities, Ministers, MPs and government officials, maintains an archive of all births, marriages and deaths since 1837, civil partnerships since 2005, and maintains the Adopted Children's Register, Adoption Contact Register and other registers; supplying certificates from these registers and the archive for identity or family history research purposes.

Visit the General Register Office for Scotland or the General Register Office for Northern Ireland for more details of registrations in these countries.

Read more about what we do here.

Want more information on passports, or need to register a birth, death or marriage, or order a certificate? Visit Directgov.