Heritage and roots

Tracing Scottish roots

Scotland's records are searched in one place, ScotlandsPeople, online or at the centre in Edinburgh's General Register House. Then head for the parish, the clan seat or the glen.

Facts checked 1 November 2026 against the sources listed at the end. Britlens is independent: see our editorial policy.

General Register House on Princes Street, Edinburgh, with the Duke of Wellington statue in front
Photo: Carlos Delgado, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

What the records cover

ScotlandsPeople is the official site of the National Records of Scotland for family history. You can search people and places, browse digitised volumes such as church court and tax records, look at maps and plans, and order birth, marriage and death certificates. [1]

Main record sets on ScotlandsPeople (background summary)
RecordsPeriod
Old parish registers (Church of Scotland baptisms, banns and burials)Before 1855 [2]
Statutory registers of births, marriages and deathsFrom 1855 [2]
Census returns1841 to 1921 [2]
Wills and testamentsDigitised wills and testaments [2]

Check the record guides on ScotlandsPeople itself for exact coverage and what each search costs before you start.

Visiting the ScotlandsPeople Centre

The centre is in HM General Register House, 2 Princes Street, Edinburgh EH1 3YY, at the east end of Princes Street. [3] You must book a seat online before your visit: bookings and payments cannot be made in person. [3]

It opens Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 16:00, except public holidays, and visitors can see all the digitised records and indexes, including modern records. [3] Most of the centre's facilities charge a fee. [2]

General Register House is a short walk from Edinburgh Waverley station. See New Town: things to do for the building and what is nearby, and our Edinburgh guide for where to stay.

Culloden battlefield moor near Inverness
Photo: Julian Paren, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Places to add to the trip

  • National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh: collections on Scottish history. See Grassmarket and Southside.
  • Culloden Battlefield, near Inverness: the Jacobite army was defeated here on 16 April 1746. See Inverness.
  • Dunvegan Castle, Skye (Clan MacLeod) and Duart Castle, Mull (Clan MacLean). See Skye and Oban.
  • Grantown Museum, Grantown-on-Spey: Highland and Clan Grant history. See Cairngorms.
  • Scottish Jewish Archives Centre, Glasgow: Jewish migration to Scotland. See Charing Cross and Garnethill.

Highland games run mostly from May to September. The Braemar Gathering is on the first Saturday in September and the Cowal Highland Gathering is in August. [4]

Duart Castle on the Isle of Mull, seat of Clan MacLean, above the Sound of Mull
Photo: Philippe Giabbanelli, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Quick answers

When did civil registration start in Scotland?

Statutory registers of births, marriages and deaths start in 1855; before that, use the old parish registers. [2]

Can I just turn up at the ScotlandsPeople Centre?

No. Seats must be booked online before you visit. [3]

Guide correlate

Fonti

Read on the dates shown. Rules, dates and services change: check the source before you rely on it. Pages marked “not read” refused automated access, so we state nothing from them.

  1. ScotlandsPeople (opens in new tab), National Records of Scotland, read 1 November 2026
  2. ScotlandsPeople (opens in new tab), Wikipedia, read 1 November 2026
  3. Visit us: ScotlandsPeople Centre (opens in new tab), National Records of Scotland, read 1 November 2026
  4. Highland games (opens in new tab), VisitScotland, read 1 November 2026