Are historic certificates arriving from the GRO in the current pandemic?

[groom]

I guess that the pdf certificates are much easier to send as they have already been scanned, so all someone has to do it call it up on the computer and press a button. Paper certificates have to be found, copied and posted, so more complicated.

[medpat]

Just a thought - is there a shortage of the certificate paper at the moment.

[Calpe 1704]

Its ridiculous! Order one in April, still hasn't arrived!
Claimed to the G.R.O. on two occasions.

[KGarrad]

If you don't have the patience to wait, why on earth did you order a certificate during a pandemic?
Knowing that GRO, along with most employers, had fewer staff working?

IMHO what's ridiculous is ordering during a very difficult time!

[Calpe 1704]

If you don't have the patience to wait, why on earth did you order a certificate during a pandemic?
Knowing that GRO, along with most employers, had fewer staff working?
IMHO what's ridiculous is ordering during a very difficult time!

It wasn't a matter of patience, it was knowing that i found the reference and it was ordered, so i had peace of mind.
Ok, so there is a pandemic, things go slow, but being ordered in April is just a joke.
Most matters are via computer network, so an entry using given numbers is not that complicated, press Enter, Print the PDF and it gets posted.
Easy as pie!

[Girl Guide]

You have to bear in mind that the GRO probably gets hundreds of orders if not thousands every week or every month.  If they have less staff than normal to process the orders, then it is going to take longer. 

I had a look at some of my previous orders and they took between four to six weeks to arrive either by pdf or post.

I have some currently awaiting arrival.  Whilst waiting for those I have just simply moved on to another area of research. 

[arthurk]

Most matters are via computer network, so an entry using given numbers is not that complicated, press Enter, Print the PDF and it gets posted.
Easy as pie!

If it was already in digital format you might have a point, but my understanding is that they are only scanned as and when needed. I don't know if the scans are then saved for any subsequent orders.

Government offices like the GRO aren't supposed to make a profit on the services they provide. The fact that Scotland charges £1.50 for copies from records that are known to have been scanned and England charges £7.00 for pdfs does rather suggest that the countries are using different processes.

[cuffie81]

Shortly after the PDF copies were introduced Guy made a Freedom Of Information request, asking for details of the process. Despite it being a digital copy it still involved quite a few manual steps. The process may have changed since but it's probably still not as simple as a couple of button clicks.

WhatDoTheyKnow
A Freedom of Information request to General Register Office:
I am requesting details of the process for supplying uncertified PDFs of GRO registers of Births & Deaths
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/i_am_requesting_details_of_the_p

[groom]

I really can't understand why people are surprised that they are having to wait for non essential things like certificates, during a time unlike anything we've gone through before. I expect the GRO may had had to furlough a lot of staff, plus having to cope with staff who may have had to self isolate and arrange the work space to cope with social distancing. It clearly states on their page (and has done from the beginning) that there will be delays AND they ask people not to order unless urgent. So if people choose order anyway, or don't bother to read that warning, they can't then complain when they don't get a certificate in the normal time.