Examples of certificates and other documents found in family history research

Note, the correct terminolgy for a certificate is "A certified copy of an entry in a register" -

In the past certificates were handwritten transcripts of the register entry, larger parish eventually started printing "certificate blanks".
These saved time by requiring only the details that commonly changed to be entered by hand.

When civil registration began as a result of the 1836 Act for the registering of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England the Registrar General printed forms to enable certified copies of a register entry to be supplied to members of the public.

It is these forms which are now termd certificates by the general public.

Click the relevant link below

Birth & Certificates

Burial Certificates

Marriage Licences & Certificates

Guardianship Certificate