Just to keep people informed andif you want to get in early for certificates. Revised Certificate Fees Revised fees for certificates will come into effect on 1 April 2003. The standard fee for a full certificate of birth, marriage, death or adoption will be £7.00. Certificate Fees Each year the fees charged for certificates by the General Register Office are reviewed during the months of October/November. Our aim in setting the statutory fee is to ensure that ONS only recovers the costs relating to the service provided. The efficiency measures implemented over the last few years have meant that we have been able to maintain the current level of fees for the last 4 years. The review undertaken this year highlighted that, despite the efficiency measures and in order to meet our costs, certificate fees would have to be increased by 50 pence. Changes to the statutory fee have to be included in an Order agreed by the minister and laid before Parliament. This was completed in December 2002. For applications taken at the FRC, the revised fees, as from 1 April 2003, are as follows: Standard Service Full certificate of birth, marriage or death £7.00 Full certificate of adoption £7.00 Short certificate of birth £7.00 Short certificate of adoption £5.50 Priority Service Full certificate of birth, marriage or death £23.00 Full certificate of adoption £23.00 Short certificate of birth £23.00 Short certificate of adoption £21.50 The administration fee charged in cases where we are unable to produce a certificate will remain the same. This means that refunds will increase to £4.00. The complete list of revised fees will be included on the ONS website at www.statistics.gov.uk and displayed at the FRC in the near future. Charges at Local Register Offices are also being increased by 50 pence. Did you know....applications for certificates have increased by 52% in the past six years. The total number of applications received at Southport increased from 545,272 in 1996/1997 to 827,076 in 2001/2002 Pam