Certificates for births, marriages or deaths in England or Wales can be ordered online through the GRO. To order a certificate, simply follow the instructions on the GRO website, supplying the necessary data and a GRO Index reference. The full reference is usually a volume and page reference or an 'entry number' for later records, given with the year, quarter and district. This can be found by viewing the full record detail when searching BMD records online. Events from the last 50 years will require you to supply more information at application stage.
Details listed on a short version of a birth certificate include the baby's forenames and surname, sex, date of birth and the name of the registration district and sub-district where the birth took place.
This will give you the date and place of birth, the forename(s) and sex of the child; the full name and maiden surname of the mother; the informant's name, their address and relationship to the child; the full name and occupation of the father if married to the mother (or if he attended with the mother and signed the registration entry); and from 1969, the place of birth of both parents.
This will give you the date and place of marriage; the previous marital status of bride and groom; the names, ages, address and occupation(s) of the bride and groom; the names and occupations of their fathers; and the names of the witnesses.
This will give you the name of the deceased; their occupation and usual address; their given age, birth date and birthplace (birth date and birthplace after 1969 only); the date, place and cause of their death; and the informant’s name and address details. If the deceased was a married/widowed woman, her maiden name will also be listed (after 1969 only).