Family History Centre
The Family History Centre in the Registration Office in Perth offers assisted searches by experienced staff who will help you find the information you require. A search can also be booked at the AK Bell Library or at one of the area registration offices in Pitlochry, Blairgowrie, Crieff, Auchterarder or Kinross.
Digitised records provide quick and easy access to genealogical records. Registration in Scotland became compulsory in 1855 and your local Registration Office has access by computer to the statutory records of births, deaths and marriages from this date to the present day for the whole of Scotland.
Census returns from 1841 to 1901 for Scotland can be consulted and are very useful in establishing where and when a person was born and in tracing other family members. They also provide additional information such as occupations and addresses.
Before the introduction of compulsory civil registration in 1855, the parish ministers or session clerks of the Church of Scotland kept the Old Parish Records. These recorded births and baptisms; proclamations of banns and marriages; deaths and burials. The oldest register in Scotland is from Errol in Perthshire and was written in 1553. Whilst the surviving registers are far from complete and the standard of record keeping varied, they can still be useful in obtaining information. They can be researched at any of our computerised offices.
Scottish Divorces from May 1984 are also digitised and can be researched in any computerised registration office.
From the Family History Centre in Perth you can also have your family tree produced as a comprehensive report in book format. These books make an excellent gift for that special occasion.
Access a full list of our fees.
A general search costs £15 an hour and should be booked in advance. A Registrar will help you carry out your search. Please contact us for further information.
