Are Scottish BMD's online ?(apart from the ScotlandsPeople website).

[littlefacey]

Hello!


Was just wondering if anyone knows anywhere i can research the Scottish part of my family from Stirlingshire online without paying?? I have used Scotlandspeople but by the time i have view 2 records ive used all my credits! Too expensive so i was wondering if there is an alternative??


Thanks xx

[KGarrad]

Quite simply - no!

[nanny jan]

There are some Scottish records available on FamilySearch.org:


https://familysearch.org/search/collection/list/?page=1&countryId=1986318


Nanny Jan

[djct59]

Using any of the free sites involves a huge degree of pot luck though - they are notorious for simply being transcriptions of the written record, so are full of spelling mistakes in names and addresses, and misread ages on census records. You can use them as a very basic starting point, but should ALWAYS then check the information against the published record

[Craclyn]

Provided that you think carefully about your filtering criteria you can get a lot of information from Scotlandspeople without using too many credits. A cost of 5 credits to have immediate online access to an image is not unreasonable and being able to confirm details online is a big advantage compared with the GRO system of postal ordering for certificates.

[Forfarian]

Too expensive so i was wondering if there is an alternative??

Scotland's People, used correctly, is one of the cheapest online services in the world for accessing original historic birth, marriage and death certificates.

If you get your search right, you can instantly get a historic Scottish certificate for 6 credits, which works out at £1.40. Yes, that is one pound and forty pence.

Just be thankful that you are not trying to research in
England and Wales (every certificate £9.25 and you have to wait for it to arrive in the post)
New Zealand (every handwritten or typed printout NZ$20.40, and you have to wait for it to arrive in the post)
Queensland (every image AUS$20)
New South Wales (every certificate AUS$31, and you have to wait for them to arrive by post)
Victoria (index search AUS$0.99 and every uncertified image AUS$21)
Tasmania (every certificate AUS$45.88)
South Australia (every standard certificate AUS$46.00 plus postage)
Northern Territory (every certificate AUS$43.00 plus postage)
Western Australia (every reduced fee certificate AUS$31, and you have to wait for it)

So for the price of just one English or Welsh certificate you could instantly get six Scottish certificates, and still have some change left over.

For the cost of just one South Australian certificate, you could make 103 index searches (getting up to 1545 index entries in the process) or you could view 17 wrong certificates and then get your correct image instantly.

And I have been told there are some US states where you can only get a certificate at all if you can already prove that you are related to the person concerned.

[buckhyne]

Too expensive so i was wondering if there is an alternative??

Scotland's People, used correctly, is one of the cheapest online services in the world for accessing original historic birth, marriage and death certificates.

If you get your search right, you can instantly get a historic Scottish certificate for 6 credits, which works out at £1.40. Yes, that is one pound and forty pence.

Just be thankful that you are not trying to research in
England and Wales (every certificate £9.25 and you have to wait for it to arrive in the post)
New Zealand (every handwritten or typed printout NZ$20.40, and you have to wait for it to arrive in the post)
Queensland (every image AUS$20)
New South Wales (every certificate AUS$31, and you have to wait for them to arrive by post)
Victoria (index search AUS$0.99 and every uncertified image AUS$21)
Tasmania (every certificate AUS$45.88)
South Australia (every standard certificate AUS$46.00 plus postage)
Northern Territory (every certificate AUS$43.00 plus postage)
Western Australia (every reduced fee certificate AUS$31, and you have to wait for it)

So for the price of just one English or welsh certificate you could instantly get six Scottish certificate, and still have some change left over.

For the cost of just one South Australian certificate, you could make 103 index searches (getting up to 1545 index entries in the process) or you could view 17 wrong certificates and then get your correct image instantly.

And I have been told there are some US states where you can only get a certificate at all if you can already prove that you are related to the person concerned.

I was gonnae say that but ye beat me tae it 

[djct59]

The key to this is refining your search, not charging in blindly.

For example, if you know your g-g-grandfather was (say) Robert Murray from Stirlingshire and you start searching just for that on SP, you will waste a lot of money before you find him. If you have an approximate date of death, spouse's name and can narrow it down to a town or village, your chances of getting it right first or second time increase enormously. The key ois to have as much information as possible before you start. Most people know when their grandparents died, and Scottish death certificates specify parents' names and spouse's maiden name. With that it can be a simple task to locate a marriage certificate.

That gives you the parties' ages, place of residence and parents' names. A little patience and a bit of logic and you can make rapid progress with most names in most parts of Scotland.

[Johnf04]

Too expensive so i was wondering if there is an alternative??

Scotland's People, used correctly, is one of the cheapest online services in the world for accessing original historic birth, marriage and death certificates.

If you get your search right, you can instantly get a historic Scottish certificate for 6 credits, which works out at £1.40. Yes, that is one pound and forty pence.

Just be thankful that you are not trying to research in
England and Wales (every certificate £9.25 and you have to wait for it to arrive in the post)
New Zealand (every handwritten or typed printout NZ$20.40, and you have to wait for it to arrive in the post)
Queensland (every image AUS$20)
New South Wales (every certificate AUS$31, and you have to wait for them to arrive by post)
Victoria (index search AUS$0.99 and every uncertified image AUS$21)
Tasmania (every certificate AUS$45.88)
South Australia (every standard certificate AUS$46.00 plus postage)
Northern Territory (every certificate AUS$43.00 plus postage)
Western Australia (every reduced fee certificate AUS$31, and you have to wait for it)

So for the price of just one English or Welsh certificate you could instantly get six Scottish certificates, and still have some change left over.

For the cost of just one South Australian certificate, you could make 103 index searches (getting up to 1545 index entries in the process) or you could view 17 wrong certificates and then get your correct image instantly.

And I have been told there are some US states where you can only get a certificate at all if you can already prove that you are related to the person concerned.

I agree..Scotlands People is great. Just a small correction, though, to your information on New Zealand; printouts can be sent by email, so the wait is short.