<<<<<<<<I think you will find that the answer is "Yes". As Dublin holds the Volume Books prior to 1922, Belfast Registry Office has to rely on the Church copies (you say Belfast R.O has their own Index database for marriages). In a Registration Area there would be a number of churches involved and knowing which church would be an enormous help with a search Alma>>>>>> Alma The RO in Belfast actually have two databases for marriages, the staff in the research room say that you can use both. I found a marriage one day on one that I couldn't find on the "normal" one and I used it to order a marriage record. The staff at the counter downstairs looked at my sheet and said "Where did you find this" and I told him. He said " You shouldn't use that one, they are the Church records and we don't go by those" When I go to the Registry office they order any marriage records that I want from the district office, Antrim, Armagh etc. They are the office that pull the transcript or the original depending which you want. I do know this as a fact as I had a 1850 marriage that I needed and there was a mix up with email addresses (the Registry Office Belfast email the requests out to the outlying offices) I ended up having to go to the Antrim office and seeing the Registrar there to get the record. Pre 1922 records are available in Northern Ireland but if the volumes are in Dublin I wonder what the registrars in the districts are looking at? I will try to find out. Lena