GRO lookup

[Teeds]

Hi I'm trying to order a birth certificate from the 1980s but I don't know where to find the GRO details - I have the short form certificate - is it on there?

I need volume and page number but there are several options I may well be an idiot:

Top right there is in red print two letters and then six numbers eg: XX YYYYYY
Top left there is in small red print X & X XXXX. Y XX. YY
Bottom left under the handwritten date is hand written: XXXXXYY

Help

[avm228]

Welcome to Rootschat

No it won’t be on the certificate- you need to look it up in an index. Which year in the 1980s was it? FreeBMD coverage currently is pretty good up to 1983 and very much a work in progress thereafter.

[davidft]

This may be helpful 

( from https://www.gov.uk/research-family-history )

Find index reference numbers online

You can:

search the GRO online Index of historic births (1837 to 1916) and deaths (1837 to 1957)
view index reference numbers for free on the FreeBMD website
Commercial companies also have the index reference numbers online, but you’ll have to pay to search them and prices will vary.

Find index reference numbers in person
You can also search for free at:

the Library of Birmingham
Bridgend Local and Family History Centre
the City of Westminster Archives Centre
Manchester Central Library
Newcastle City Library
Plymouth Central Library
The British Library (you’ll need to register first)

These are the only complete copies of the full sets of index reference numbers. They’re on microfiche.
Some of the index reference numbers are available at local libraries, archives and other locations.

[Raybistre]

Easiest way to get a copy of the full birth certificate (you say you have a copy of the short certificate),
is to order a copy from the Superintendant Registrar in the district where the birth was registered. You can sometimes do this on the internet.
Ray

[Teeds]

thank you everyone it was before 1983 so I found it on freebmd, I had not thought it had recent entries!

Thanks again