| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | An Act for registering Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 6 & 7 Will. 4. c. 86 |
| Territorial extent | England and Wales |
| Dates | |
| Commencement | 1 July 1837 |
| Expired | 1 July 1837 |
| Other legislation | |
| Amended by | |
The General Register Office for England and Wales (GRO) is the section of the United Kingdom HM Passport Office responsible for the civil registration of births (including stillbirths), adoptions, marriages, civil partnerships and deaths in England and Wales and for those same events outside the UK if they involve a UK citizen and qualify to be registered in various miscellaneous registers. With a small number of historic exceptions involving military personnel, it does not deal with records of such events occurring within the land or territorial waters of Scotland, Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland; those entities' registration systems have always been separate from England and Wales.
The GRO was founded in 1836 by the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1836, and civil registration commenced in 1837. Its head is the Registrar General. Probably the most distinguished person associated with the GRO in the 19th century, although he was never its head, was William Farr.
The GRO supplies copies of birth, marriage, civil partnership certificates and death certificates, either online or from one of the local register offices that act on behalf of the GRO.