Returning to sensible discussion about this. - The GRO are not immune to inflation or any of the events that have occured around the world in the last 7 years so it probably isn't surprising that some of the certificates are going up in price. For example, real inflation from 2003 to 2009 is about 20% so from that alone a £7 certificate should now be £8.40. And not all fees are going up which is something conveniently overlooked by some people. For example, the cost of a certificate ordered online without the reference number will actually fall from the current £10 to £9.25 and for one ordered offline without the reference number the cost will drop from £11.50 to £9.25 - The GRO has also been investing heavily in digitising their certificates and making new (and hopefully more accurate') indices than the ones we are used to seeing. One plan is to add age at death where the current index doesn't show an age at death ie the earlier death index and a spouses surname in the earlier marriage index. However the project has had serious problems (there's a surprise with a govenment department!) and the previous contractor withdrew/was dropped. The project is due to restart this year. You could argue that digitising the images and making better indices should bring costs down - and they probably will in the long run - but since the project isn't even half completed yet those savings are some way off. You could also argue that we shouldn't have to pay for the costs of a bungled project. But if we don't then who will? The UK taxpayer?? Since Government funding for all sorts of stuff has been cut back to deal with the deficits we are facing in the UK it isn't really surprising that the Govenment doesn't want to subsidise the GRO which is what it would have to do to keep the price of a certificate unchanged. It would hardly be a vote winner in the forthcoming general election now would it? So although I'll sigh heavily next time I order a certificate online I will understand why some have had to go up in price. Oh - and for those who are interested the law in England and Wales currently does not allow the actual certificate information to be made available online. Now if you want a protest I'd rather see one that gets that law changed to bring those countries in line with Scotland :) Paula