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Beginners => Family History Beginners Board => Topic started by: what0101 on Wednesday 15 March 23 21:33 GMT (UK)
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Is it possible to get certified copies of the English census? If so, how? I'm specifically interested in 1901-1921.
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Can you clarify what you mean by "certified" copies? I would imagine most people will screen shot or print off whatever they are looking for from the census.
For example you can print or copy to clipboard a transcript and with an image you can either print it or download it to your computer.
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The 1921 is pay per view for everybody on FindMyPast
1901 & 1911 images are available on the subscription sites. If you don't have a subscription most libraries offer free Ancestry access
There is no such thing as a "certified" copy - what you see is what you get online
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The 1911 and 1921 Census are the only ones which are the schedules filled in by the householder, thus showing their signature.
All the earlier census are in the Enumerator’s handwriting, they are transcriptions of the schedules which no longer exist.
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In all previous censuses the household schedules were destroyed after the enumerator had made his transcription - they are all that we have,
Steve
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A certified copy is one that can be used for official purposes, such as GRO certificates as opposed to digital images.
I am guessing it can be done this way: https://www.gov.uk/certifying-a-document
But was wondering if there are any other options. It appears not.
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I’m not sure that members of the public would be allowed to view the original censuses, or have them copied, or certified. They are all available online.
For what reason do you require certified copies of the censuses?
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A census is simply a population count with added information for the government to plan for services etc required for the future. There is no guarantee that the information contained is factually correct.
Many people were economical with the truth, even today some people regard a census as an intrusion. I can’t imagine, even if such a thing were available, that a certified copy of a census, would be of use in providing evidence in a legal sense.
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I agree with Jebber.
A census isn’t mentioned on the list on that government site and as already stated there is no guarantee that the information is factual, other than that named person was there on census night.
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Certifying a census or any document is just certifying that the document is a true copy. Whether or not the census is a reliable source of information is irrelevant for the purposes of certification. This is a document that is commonly requested for jure sanguinis citizenship applications for some countries.
(I would also add that many people were also economical with the truth on marriage and birth certificates, but you can get certified copies of those).
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Birth and marriage certificates were issued to individuals. Census returns were not issued to anyone.
A census was a snapshot of one night in ten years and proves very little. It’s not a legal document.
Anyone trying to prove entitlement to citizenship would be better off obtaining the appropriate birth, death and marriage certificate/s, accurate or not.
It is very doubtful that the original Scottish, English and Welsh censuses can be accessed by the public, however the OP might like to chase up whichever authority holds them and ask the question.
They may also like to explain the situation to whichever country they are applying for citizenship of, and ask if the online copy of the census is acceptable if access to originals is denied.