Census records held

The Archives and Heritage Service holds microfiche/film of the census for Birmingham from 1841 to 1901, including suburbs such as Handsworth and Yardley that were formerly in Staffordshire and Worcestershire.

From 1851 to 1901 information shown includes the names, age, sex, place of birth and occupation of individuals and their relationship to the head of household. Less information is shown on the 1841 census and more on the 1911.

Some may also include other areas. For example, the 1871 fiche includes Oldbury in West Bromwich and the 1891 fiche includes Solihull, but coverage varies from census to census.

Most of the census returns are indexed by street rather than by name, though we do hold surname indexes for the 1851 and 1881 census.

Census records are generally closed to the general public for 100 years in order to protect the participant’s privacy. The latest census that is available today is the 1911 census.

We also hold some census returns for other areas of the country, but coverage is not consistent.

Page last updated: 14 February 2024