Scotland Public Records Search

Regions in Scotland You Can Search Public Records

How To Search Scotland Public Records

The first step in finding anyone’s public record in Scotland, or anywhere in the UK, is to know their full name. Then find a reliable UK public records website and begin your search for pubic records with a first and last name. You’ll notice that results will be surprising, there are a lot more public records available in Scotland than people realize and you’ll want to narrow down your search results to the correct person and the type of record you’re looking for. To verify you’ve got the correct person it’s good to know their middle name and date of birth or year of birth or death if you have that information. This step is very important because you’ll notice that many people have shared the same names throughout history and having that extra piece of information will help you to refine your search results and expedite you finding the correct Scotland public record.

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Public Records Available In Scotland

  • Marriage Records
  • Birth and Death Records
  • Parish Records
  • Military Service Records
  • Immigration & Travel Archives
  • Newspaper Archives
  • Social History
  • Education and Work History
  • Genealogy and Family History
  • Census and Register Records

Scotland Public Record Offices

The Scotland National Archives houses over 11 million government records on file spanning back hundreds of years to the 1100s. They also have private records that are created by businesses, churches, families, other landed estates and corporate bodies. You can find important records such as births, deaths, and marriage registers at the National Office. However, some of the records are kept at the National Archives in London.

If the records have been digitised it is also possible to carry out your searches by remote or from your computer. Here are the places where you can find the pertinent information:

Scotland Public Records Office Location
The National Archives
Kew, Richmond,
Surrey, TW9 4DU
Email: enquiries@nas.gov.uk
Tel: +44 (0) 20 8876 3444

Scotland Public Records

Where To Research Scotland Public Records

Scotland’s People has Genealogical information dating from 1841-1911. Through this database you can also find wills and testaments dating from 1500-1901, and the 1915 valuation roll. All of these are available on indexed digital copies.

You can also find digitised copies of tax rolls, Ordnance survey name books, maps and plans. You can search prior to 1975, or after and by county.

You can also search the Scottish Archive Network where all testaments between 1500 and 1901 have been digitised. You can get information about more than 20,000 historical record archives throughout all of Scotland.

Capital: Edinburgh
Largest City: Glasgow
Official Language(s): English, Gaelic, Scots
Government: Constitutional monarchy
Queen (of the UK): Queen Elizabeth II
Prime Minister (of the UK): David Cameron MP
First Minister of Scotland: Alex Salmond MSP
Population: Approximately 5.2 million
Birth Rate: 11.3 births per 1,000 people
Death Rate: 10.3 deaths per 1,000 people
Literacy: 99%
Scotland’s top five export industries: Food and drink
Chemicals
Business services
Electrical and instrument engineering
Mechanical engineering
(2009 Global Connections Survey, Scottish Government)
Total Area: 78,772 sq km (30,414 sq mi)
Highest mountain: Ben Nevis 1344m
Islands: 800 (130 inhabited)
Coastline: Approximately 10,000km with
3,900km mainland coast

A Scotland people search can be performed by any of the multitude of online resources that specialize in UK public records. A people search in Scotland begins with knowing the person’s full name, including their middle name if they have one, and any other identifiable information such as their date of birth or perhaps their date of death. It’s important to have some secondary information about a person that you’re researching in Scotland because there are many people throughout history that share the same name. This means that you will want to verify the Scotland public record with a year of birth or death to make sure you have the correct record for the right person.

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