Birth, Marriage and Death Record Tracker

Who this is for

The certificates and register copies you have ordered, and what they cost. One row per record, with the event, the reference it was ordered under, the date the order went in and a tick when it arrived; the sheet totals the spend and counts what is still outstanding.

Family historians who order records from registries, archives and record offices and lose track of which ones have come, which are still on the way and how much the year's research has actually cost.

What this helps you track

• Every birth, marriage or death record you have applied for, and for whom
• The reference or index entry the order was made from
• When it was ordered and what was paid
• Which records have arrived and which are still awaited
• The total spent, worked out for you

How to use it

1. Write your name and the surname or project the sheet covers at the top.
2. Add a row when you order a record: the person, the event, the date and place as you believe them, and the reference or index entry you quoted on the order.
3. Enter the date ordered and the fee you paid. Fees are whatever the issuing office charged you; none are supplied here.
4. Tick received when the record arrives, and use the notes column for what it turned out to say — especially if it was the wrong person.
5. The total cost and the counts of received and outstanding records are worked out in the browser version and the workbook.
6. Add each received record to your source log with its own number, and file the certificate where the number will find it.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Which offices and websites should I order from?

That depends entirely on the country and the period, and the sheet does not say. It records where you ordered from and what it cost; where the records are held is something to find out for the place you are researching.

What if the record turns out to be the wrong person?

Keep the row, tick received and say so in the notes. It still cost money, it still rules something out, and you will not order the same entry again by mistake.

Can I track records I already hold?

Yes. Leave the ordered date and cost blank and tick received. The sheet then doubles as a list of the certificates in your files.

Does it work out how long an order has been waiting?

No. Different offices take different times and the sheet makes no assumption. The outstanding count in the summary tells you how many are still to come; the ordered date beside each tells you how long.