ScotlandsPeople Reviews 35

TrustScore 2 out of 5

1.9

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Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Too easily triggered into detecting some malevolent login, so locks you out very easily. Was able to find my parent's marriage cert, but the website cannot load the payment page. No matter how many ti... See more

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

It's very expensive. For what I pay on other sites for a month's worth of unlimited resources (where I find out so much), I use up in just one hour on this site for just three or four items (after dis... See more

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

very poor site put in exact name and date of death but no result costs a lot of money to search census as there could be twenty people with same name but as no clue to street given so it means you ha... See more

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

staff very friendly and helpful on the phone. i found what i wanted on the website and have completed my search for the family archive .you read or hear about sxcottish friendliness and hospitality- w... See more

Company details

  1. Genealogist

Information provided by various external sources

From Scottish census records, Scottish wills, birth certificates and death certificates, we have a comprehensive choice of Scottish records to bring your Scotland ancestry to life. Build the complete picture of your Scottish ancestry with ScotlandsPeop...


Contact info

1.9

Poor

TrustScore 2 out of 5

35 reviews

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Rated 1 out of 5 stars

money making site

very poor site put in exact name and date of death but no result costs a lot of money to search census as there could be twenty people with same name but as no clue to street given so it means you have to pay to view each one this is just a money making site very disappointing

8 February 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Payment and Contact Us do not work

Too easily triggered into detecting some malevolent login, so locks you out very easily. Was able to find my parent's marriage cert, but the website cannot load the payment page. No matter how many times you 'try again later', it never works. Cookies erased, details checked, all guidance followed to the letter - no dice. To top it all off, the function to contact them for help doesn't work either - it will not send the message. I'd hate to live in Scotland and need to rely on this website which is apparently an approved subsidiary of the National Records of Scotland website... how do you poor people apply for anything that requires these crucial certificates!!?? My heart goes out to you. As it is, my Irish Passport application is now on hold, indefinitely, thanks to Scotland's People's atrocious website. YIKES!

11 January 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Took my money, haven’t delivered

Don’t expect certificates in a hurry! This is what happens when you force postage restrictions (for profiteering) on docs that could be emailed in 5 minutes.

Took my money, and extra for 1st class recorded delivery 15 days ago (14th Nov) and the document is still not here (28th). Terrible, rude customer service “We have 15 working days to process an complete an order, so in your case we have a target date of 05/12/25.“ (sic)

Yet I could cancel, pay more and get it posted next day. Absolute joke. Most people need certs for disclosure and there’s a 14 day window for application.

14 November 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

total scam

total scam. they charged me 20 gbp to buy credits , and on the first record they said i had to pay 12 gbp to view it

19 September 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 2 out of 5 stars

A subscription service rather than pay-to-view-the-wrong-record, please.

When I lived in Edinburgh I could pay £15 to look through as many records as I needed. This was cost effective when relatives in the NE all had the same surname - the Stephens of Peterhead for example, marrying Stephens and their Stephen kids marrying Stephens. I no longer live within 2 hours of a centre so have to pay extortionate prices to, again and again, view the wrong record.

Come on Scotland's People - do something for the people of Scotland and provide a subscription service so we can trace our Scottish relatives without taking out a second mortgage.

6 September 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 2 out of 5 stars

Ordered a certificate and weeks later…

Ordered a certificate and weeks later still not received.

At the bottom of the page before you order the certificate it does say 15 days for processing. I would think this needs to be near the payment page as well just to make sure. I was in a hurry and do not want to read multiple pages to get my order.

7 July 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

This site is appalling.

This site is appalling.
It is the only way to search census records for Scotland but even if you have a plethora of information you could still be offered 3 or 4 (Or more) options and you are unable to view the record, you have to buy a copy of the certificate only to find out it wasn't the one you were actually looking for.
I'm sure they could have an option that would let you view the details before you made a purchase.
Feel very ripped off with this site

18 July 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Had to call after I made an error and…

Had to call after I made an error and the staff couldn’t have been any nicer or more helpful! genuinely such a pleasant experience. One of those moments that make you remember the world still is good at times!

11 July 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

The search engine is truly hopeless

The search engine is truly hopeless. The options are absurdly limited. For example, it is not possible to search a Census by address. Why not? The narrowest search by location is at District level. For city centres, this generates tens of thousands of results listed alphabetically by name. What use is that?

Pay per view is also inappropriate for accessing public domain information which should be free.

14 January 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Absolutely appalling "revamp"

Absolutely appalling "revamp", an easy to use, well laid out resource has been turned into an absolute mess.

Ridiculous that this is seen by the administrators of this site regard this as some kind of improvement. Whatever happened to the adage, "if it ain't broke don't fix it" ?

Have now been left with 54 units I have no enthusiasm to go and use.

7 October 2024
Unprompted review
Rated 2 out of 5 stars

I have been on Scotlands People for…

I have been on Scotlands People for over 20years,always found it very easy to use,UNTIL NOW ,Sept 2024.They have changed the way it used to work to something that is hard to follow,does not come up with 'login'you have to go through a load of palaver to find it,i got it at long last,but now i cannot 'SIGN OUT'.Why change when all was ok??

15 September 2024
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Really shockingly bad now

Really shockingly bad now. Used to be good but can't find anybody. Even ones I've found in the past which seem to have disappeared all together. Sort this out.

18 May 2024
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Supposed to be a Scottish website…

Supposed to be a Scottish website regarding Scottish nationality but you cant identify yourself as Scottish when signing up?

The search engine they use now is also incredibly inferior to previous versions.

9 February 2024
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

They apparently had an update…

They apparently had an update yesterday.Now I can’t get into my account.The user name & password are correct.Have no access to certificates that I have paid for or remaining credits.Couldn’t get through on the phone so wondering if other person are having the same problem,

7 November 2023
Unprompted review

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