Document Search

We can help by obtaining any missing documents

You may need to locate the certificates needed to support intestacies, or verify the information provided by beneficiaries. Our Document Search service will order and obtain certificates from England and Wales and Scotland. This includes documents of births, adoptions, marriages, civil partnerships, Decree Absolutes, deaths, Wills, and Grants or Confirmations.

We make locating all the certificates needed to support intestacies or verify the information provided by beneficiaries, a timely and cost-effective process.

Make Title Research your first call for certificates

We’ll do all the legwork to provide certificates for:

Births and deaths
Marriages and civil partnerships
Decree Absolute
Adoption
Wills
Grants (or Confirmations in Scotland)

This popular and excellent value service leaves you free to focus on more pressing priorities.

Quickly obtain documents

Most documents can be obtained within a week from the date of instruction. The standard turnaround time of the General Register Office in England and Wales is five to seven working days. In some cases, we may be able to obtain documents faster. If you need the documents urgently, please contact us and we can advise.

Case study: Proving a legal adoption

We were approached by a solicitor to help them obtain proof of adoption. The deceased died intestate and had three children; two biological daughters and an adopted son. The adopted son had been missed from the family tree and the deceased’s biological daughters were set to inherit the entire estate.

We obtained the adoption certificate, allowing our solicitor client to prove that the adoption was legal and help the adopted son to receive his rightful inheritance.

Document searches overseas

The UK is almost unique when it comes to allowing access to records of this type, so it can sometimes prove challenging to obtain overseas documents. Access restrictions and data protection rules can often be a barrier. If you need to obtain documents overseas, we can normally help and are always happy to provide free advice.

Nil-Rate Band Document Pack

If you need to claim to transfer any unused Residence Nil-Rate Band, we can offer you a Nil-Rate Band Pack which includes all the documents needed to transfer unused Inheritance Tax exemptions. The documents would include the marriage certificate, the spouse’s death certificate and any probate papers.