ScotlandsPeople Centre

The ScotlandsPeople Centre is the official government resource for family history research. We provide access to the Scottish birth, death, marriage and census records, Catholic parish registers, Coats of Arms, valuation rolls, wills and testaments.  We are located in central Edinburgh with search rooms in historic General Register House and New Register House.

Opening Times

From 9:00 to 16:30 Monday to Friday except on some public holidays.

Before you visit

Before you visit we recommend you read our pages on:

• Booking a search place
• Fees and charges
• ScotlandsPeople Centre Search Rooms
• Terms and conditions for the ScotlandsPeople Centre

We provide the following services and resources to help your research:

• Group Evening Visits
• Introductory family history talks - details on the  Events, talks and visits page
• Interactive Experience - an online guide to researching the records
• Research guides
• ScotlandsPeople Centre Reference Library (one of our special collections)
• Useful Websites for Family History Research

Take a break from your research to visit our cafe, shop and the Archivists’ Garden.

The ScotlandsPeople Centre is a partnership between the National Records of Scotland and the Court of the Lord Lyon.  It was opened by Her Majesty the Queen in July 2008 and is a four star visitor attraction.