Malta Notarial Records

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Online Resources

• Malta genealogy at Geneanum.com - Database of notarial acts

History

Notaries were the official recorders of dowry and marriage contracts, wills, land, mortgage, business, and property records. Because these records exist from before the time of church records, they can be helpful in solving early research problems. Records are generally arranged by the notary and then chronologically. Usually there are no indexes so knowing where the person lived and where the closest notary facilitates use. Records generally include the names of participants in contracts; names of heirs; relationships, residences; dates of death and sometimes of marriage. The earliest notarial records date from 1465. Wills were not mandatory until 1863 however, there are some that date from the late 1300s.

Notarial archives for the island of Malta are found at 3 M.A.Vassalli Street, Valletta and the Notarial archive for Gozo is on Republic Street in the city of Victoria. Pre-1863 wills are at the public registry offices in Valletta and in Victoria.

The Adami Collection also includes information extracted from notarial records.