Searching the National Records of Scotland

[InternetE3plorer]

Hi, just wondering if anyone here knows how to do this.

I am researching some long lost family members ( who are probably still alive ) and I want to find details of births, deaths and marriages from about the 1960s onwards . However the Scotlands People website indicated that you can’t do this as records are not available for the last 100 years for births, 75 for marriages and 50 for deaths.

Does this mean that I have to go in person to Edinburgh and look for paper records ? Surely there are computer records available ? Is there nothing to search online ?

I can see that there is a Statutory Index of BD and M so that might be enough for me to trace people from the information I have . But there’s no information on how to access it.

I know it’s a bit of a long shot but I wondered if anyone here might have some advice .

I think you can look up recent records on the computers at the registers of Scotland. What you can't do is print those records out, or take photos if they're under 100 years old. You CAN write the info down though. The 100 years is to protect the privacy of individuals.

It's worth a day pass to the registers if you've got a load of people to look up.

Thank you @Baldieheid

Yes it is possible to find recent marriages on Scotland's People. I had reason to search for someone recently and found it (but didnt pay for the certificate)

You can search for births/marriages/deaths but you won't be able to download a digital image of the original records. You'll just get the indexed details and you can purchase a certificate if you want more information.
You can either do a general people search (searches all records but you can only search on name/surname and a date range - not helpful if a common name) or an advanced search. The advanced search lets you select which records you want to search then you can drill down by area to narrow your search.

You can find people who were born going back several hundred years. Obviously if the name is John Smith, you may get 1000 John Smiths to search through so its helpful if you are able to narrow it down by year of birth, location etc.

You can buy credits to view online or have the certificate sent to you. Some years you do have to go into their office I think, but most you can do online.

Thank you all. I’ve done what @DangerFrog suggested and got some information from the indexes.

Your other option is to search using the site as although you can't see the documents, the index listing will be there. My son's 2008 birth is on there. Then you can click "order certificate" and they will send it to you in the post. A day search ticket at Scotland's People is £15, so depending how easy/cheap it is to get to Edinburgh, that might be a better option if you have a lot of certificates to order.

I'd second the day ticket if you can get to the records office. There's no limit to how many searches you do. I find myself down multiple blind alleys, spending credits to look at strangers certificates when I try to do it at home.

Also, check your local library for free access to ancestry.com and other info like the shipping records, military records etc.

The downside to the day ticket is that even though you're logged in on your SP account to do it, when you get home those documents are not available on your account to view again, you have to pay again.

it's a good idea to have a list of queries you wish to run. I have stuff like "Exact DOB for Agnes Smith, b Kirkcaldy 1939" or "parents of bride, marriage X" - then you can just run through the queries you need to do, and if you have any extra time then you can go off on tangents.

Thanks for the tips. I didn’t realise that I’d have to pay again, good to have the warning. At least I know now to write down all the info from a document in case I need it later eg witnesses from a marriage cert.

I forgot you also pay for prints at registers. Old records can be printed off there and then, but there's a fee per page. It wasn't much, but it was about 8 years ago so who knows, today?