General Register Office
The General Register Office is that part of the government of England and Wales that deals with the civil registration of births, marriages and deaths.
It is part of the Office for National Statistics, and there are equivalent offices for Scotland and Northern Ireland. (Before the creation of that office, it was part of the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys.) Their responsibility covers the registration of births, marriages and deaths, and also that of stillbirths and adoptions. They also supply copies of birth, marriage and death certificates. These copies may be obtained either online, via the Family Records Centre or from a local register office.