Registrar General
Encyclopedia
General Register Office, in England and Wales
, Scotland
, Ireland
, and many Commonwealth
nations, is the government agency
responsible for civil registration
- the recording
of vital record
s such as birth
s, death
s, and marriage
s. The director of a General Register Office is titled registrar general.
Specific offices include:
The Australian states and territories and New Zealand
also have registrars general with broadly similar functions. The Hong Kong Government also established a registrar general after the British acquired Hong Kong
in 1841; the post was later renamed the Secretary of Chinese Affairs in 1913.
England and Wales
England and Wales is a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, and many Commonwealth
Commonwealth
Commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has sometimes been synonymous with "republic."More recently it has been used for fraternal associations of some sovereign nations...
nations, is the government agency
Government agency
A government or state agency is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an intelligence agency. There is a notable variety of agency types...
responsible for civil registration
Civil registry
Civil registration is the system by which a government records the vital events of its citizens and residents. The resulting repository or database is called civil register or registry, or population registry. The primary purpose of civil registration is to create legal documents that are used to...
- the recording
Recording
Recording is the process of capturing data or translating information to a recording format stored on some storage medium, which is often referred to as a record or, if an auditory medium, a recording....
of vital record
Vital record
Vital records are records of life events kept under governmental authority, including birth certificates, marriage licenses, and death certificates. In some jurisdictions, vital records may also include records of civil unions or domestic partnerships....
s such as birth
Birth
Birth is the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring. The offspring is brought forth from the mother. The time of human birth is defined as the time at which the fetus comes out of the mother's womb into the world...
s, death
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
s, and marriage
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
s. The director of a General Register Office is titled registrar general.
Specific offices include:
- General Register Office for England and Wales - The post of registrar general was created by the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1836, and registration began in 1837. The first holder of the post was Thomas Henry ListerThomas Henry ListerThomas Henry Lister was an English novelist and Registrar General.-Life and writings:Lister was the son of Thomas Lister of Armitage Park and his first wife Harriet Anne Seale. His maternal grandfather was John Seale...
. The registrar general was soon given other responsibilities, such as the conduct of every censusCensus in the United KingdomCoincident full censuses have taken place in the different jurisdictions of the United Kingdom every ten years since 1801, with the exceptions of 1941 and in both Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State in 1921; simultaneous censuses were taken in the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, with...
in England and Wales since 1841, and eventually came to be head of a primarily statistical organisation. In 1972, with the creation of the Office of Population Censuses and SurveysOffice of Population Censuses and SurveysThe Office of Population Censuses and Surveys , was created in May 1970 through the merger of the General Register Office and the Government Social Survey Department....
, the General Register Office became just one division of the new office, headed by a Deputy Registrar General. In England and Wales, birth registration with the state began on 1 July 1837. The birth was registered in the birth district and at the end of each quarter, the registrar sent a copy of all entries to the Registrar General. However, registration did not become compulsory until 1875. Until 1875 there was no penalty for not registering a birth; after that a fine of £2 was introduced. Between 1837 and 1875 some births were not registered so a child could be sent out to work, or, after 1853, to avoid the compulsory vaccinations of children over three months old which began that year. With the creation of the Office for National StatisticsOffice for National StatisticsThe Office for National Statistics is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom.- Overview :...
, the post of Registrar General was merged with that of Head of the Government Statistical Service, who is now also the National StatisticianNational StatisticianDirectors of the UK's Office for National Statistics also hold the title of National Statistician.-Status:They are de facto Permanent Secretaries but do not use that title. As the ONS incorporated the OPCS, the Director also became the Registrar General for England and Wales...
. However, following the 2008 implementation of the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007The Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which established the UK Statistics Authority . It came into force in April 2008. Sir Michael Scholar was appointed as the first Chair of the UKSA....
, the General Register Office continues to be part of a ministerially-accountable department, becoming a part of the Identity & Passport Service in the Home OfficeHome OfficeThe Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
and the post of Registrar-General is now held by its head.
- General Register Office for ScotlandGeneral Register Office for ScotlandThe General Register Office for Scotland was a non-ministerial directorate of the Scottish Government that administered the registration of births, deaths, marriages, divorces and adoptions in Scotland. It was also responsible for the statutes relating to the formalities of marriage and conduct...
. - Registrar General of CanadaRegistrar General of CanadaThe Registrar General of Canada is responsible for registering all letters patent, commissions, instruments, proclamations, and any other documents that may, from time to time, be issued under the Great Seal of Canada or the Privy Seal of Canada...
- a government minister with entirely different and unrelated functions. - Registrar General of Sri Lanka - a civil servant who heads the Registrar General's department responsible for registration of birth , marriages and deaths of the populace Sri Lankan and legal documents pertaining to properties. The post was created in 1864.
The Australian states and territories and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
also have registrars general with broadly similar functions. The Hong Kong Government also established a registrar general after the British acquired Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
in 1841; the post was later renamed the Secretary of Chinese Affairs in 1913.
External links
- The Registrars General 1836-1945 (pdf) from the Office for National StatisticsOffice for National StatisticsThe Office for National Statistics is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom.- Overview :...
.