HOW TO HIRE · PERSONAL & LIFESTYLE

How to hire a genealogist in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

Genealogy is unregulated in the UK. Here is how to brief one, agree the hours and costs, and what the report should show.

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THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring a genealogist in five steps

  1. Write a briefNames, dates and places you already know, and the question you want answered.
  2. Agree a block of hoursWith a report at the end of it, before more is booked.
  3. Agree certificate and archive costsPaid on top of the hours, with your approval.
  4. Ask for sources in the reportEvery fact tied to a record you could find again.
  5. Agree what you may do with the reportShare, publish, or give to family.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

No register applies

Family history research is open to anyone in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland; there is no genealogists' register or licence. The checks are a sample report, references, and a clear written brief.

Ask for an anonymised sample report and a client to ring.

Certificates and the General Register Office

In England and Wales, copies of birth, marriage and death certificates come from the General Register Office, which also supports family-tree research by index reference; Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own process. A genealogist should say which certificates are needed and get your approval before ordering.

Ask for a list of certificates and their costs before any are ordered. gov.uk →

Copyright in the written report

Section 11 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 makes the author of a written work its first owner — so the genealogist owns the copyright in their report unless they assign it in writing (section 90). The facts and records themselves are not theirs.

Agree whether you may publish or share the report, or ask for an assignment. legislation.gov.uk →

Trader status (Consumer Rights Act 2015)

Your rights — a service done with reasonable care and skill, and a repeat or a price reduction if it is not — apply when the genealogist trades as a business. For hourly research, that means the hours were used with reasonable care.

Look for the trader badge on the Locufy profile and ask for a written quote and an invoice.

VAT

Family history research is a standard-rated service, so a genealogist who is VAT-registered adds 20% to the research hours and the report. A practice over the £90,000 threshold must charge it and show it separately.

Ask the genealogist for a VAT number and check that VAT is shown apart from the research hours. gov.uk →

“What can a genealogist realistically find in the hours I am buying?”

A good answer: An honest estimate, with what might not be found.

“Which records will the genealogist search, and where?”

A good answer: A list: civil registration, census, parish, military, archives — and which need a visit.

“Will you ask before ordering certificates or paying archive fees?”

A good answer: Yes, with costs agreed first.

“How will the genealogist report findings?”

A good answer: A written report with every fact sourced, and a family tree chart if agreed.

“What happens when the genealogy research hours run out?”

A good answer: A report on progress and a choice to continue — not automatic extra hours.

“Can I share or publish your report?”

A good answer: Yes under a licence, or an assignment of copyright.

“How do you handle details of living relatives?”

A good answer: Carefully: kept private, not published, shared only with you.

Getting the quote right

  • The hourly rate and the block of hours
  • The research question and the records to be searched
  • Certificates, archive fees and travel, approved in advance
  • The report format and any family tree chart
  • What you may do with the report
  • Who actually attends to the research: the genealogist you hired, or a researcher at a distant archive, and whether that researcher is employed or subcontracted
  • The genealogist's VAT number on the engagement letter, with VAT apart from the hours and the disbursements

Walk away if

  • Open-ended hours with no reports
  • Certificates ordered without asking
  • A report with no sources
  • Promises to find a particular ancestor
  • Living people's details published
  • Payment for many hours up front with no brief
LOW
£20
TYPICAL
£35
HIGH
£45

What a genealogist costs: £20–£45 per hour

Genealogists work by the hour, usually in blocks, with certificates, archive copies and travel charged on top. Genealogist / Family History price guide →

Guide prices compiled by the Locufy team from published Irish and UK provider price lists and 2026/27 cost guides. Updated 2026.

KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NOW FIND ONE

Genealogists near you, with the badges that matter shown

ID checked, trader status and one score from every review — on the card, before you message anyone. Nearest first. No account needed to look.

Or post the job free and let them come to you, or book by the hour.

  1. BriefWhat you know, what you want to find, budget.
  2. PlanRecords to search, hours and costs.
  3. ResearchIndexes, certificates, archives — with your approval for costs.
  4. AnalysisEvidence weighed; conflicts explained.
  5. ReportFindings with sources, and suggestions for further research.

GRO index
The General Register Office index to births, marriages and deaths in England and Wales.
Census
The ten-yearly population count, released after a century.
Parish register
Church records of baptisms, marriages and burials.
Primary source
An original record made at the time.
Citation
The reference that lets you find a record again.
Block of hours
Research time bought in advance.

AFTER

When the job is done

Check the sourcesLook up a few cited records yourself.
Keep certificates and the reportTogether, with the brief.
Agree next stepsOnly if the first block answered enough to justify more.
Tell others how it wentA review of the research report can only come from a booked job on Locufy. Problems first go through the make-it-right step.

STEP 1Put the research in writing to themA short email is enough: the problem, and whether you want the research put right or money back. A business must perform a service with reasonable care and skill (CRA 2015, s49), with repeat performance or a price cut as your remedies.
STEP 2Ask Locufy to help put it rightWhen you score a booked genealogist below four stars, you choose whether the genealogist sees the problem first. We follow it through, then you review.
STEP 3Trading Standards for a trader who will not engageSince genealogists have no regulator, the route for the research is advice and a possible Trading Standards referral: Citizens Advice on 0808 223 1133 in England and Wales, Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 800 9060, or Consumerline on 0300 123 6262 in Northern Ireland.
STEP 4Small claims, as a last stepIf the genealogist still will not refund or put it right, a small claim needs no solicitor: £10,000 is the limit in England and Wales, £5,000 for simple procedure in Scotland, £5,000 in Northern Ireland.

Hiring a genealogist: questions people ask

Researching family history for clients needs no licence in any UK nation.

The genealogist, under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, unless they assign it in writing. The underlying facts are not theirs.

In England and Wales, the General Register Office; Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own services. Certificate fees are on top of research time.

£20 to £45 an hour, typically around £35. Records, archive visits and the report make the difference. Hourly rates and what research blocks usually cover are in the genealogist price guide; add your town above for researchers near you.

No — records may not survive. Pay for hours with a report, not a promise.

Raise it in writing. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 requires reasonable care and skill.

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Genealogists near you

Genealogists in LondonGenealogists in ManchesterGenealogists in BirminghamGenealogists in GlasgowGenealogists in BelfastAll genealogists on Locufy →

Sources — checked October 2026

  1. gov.uk — order a birth, death, marriage or civil partnership certificate
  2. Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, section 11 — first ownership
  3. Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, section 90 — assignment
  4. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  5. gov.uk — VAT registration threshold
  6. Citizens Advice — more help with a consumer issue
  7. gov.uk — make a court claim for money: court fees
  8. VAT rates — VAT rates for goods and services: standard rate 20% on most goods and services
  9. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register