General Register Office for Scotland

The General Register Office for Scotland (GROS) (Scottish Gaelic: Oifis Choitcheann a' Chlàraidh na h-Alba) was a non-ministerial directorate of the Scottish Government that administered the registration of births, deaths, marriages, divorces and adoptions in Scotland from 1854 to 2011.

Compulsory civil registration began in Scotland on 1 January 1855, and coverage seems to have been complete for marriages and deaths.

The original act had placed considerable burdens on the sheriffs of the Scottish counties, who had already played a role in the taking of decennial censuses.

The amending acts reduced their responsibilities by appointing registration district examiners to inspect the registers.

William Pitt Dundas was the first holder of the combined post of Deputy Clerk Register and Registrar General from September 1854 until April 1880.

The last person to hold the combined posts was Sir James Patten McDougall KCB, in office from May 1909 to March 1919.

It was expanded to include the conduct of the 1861 Census and all subsequent ones (working closely with the Registrar General to ensure consistency) and other statistical functions.

On the formation of National Records of Scotland, the positions of Registrar General and Keeper of the Records of Scotland were initially kept separate, but on the retirement of Duncan Macniven in August 2011, George Mackenzie was appointed Registrar General in addition to his existing role as Keeper.