Belgium Civil Registration

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Belgium

Civil Registration

Online Resources

Belgium

• 1560-1890 Belgium Births and Baptisms, 1560-1890 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; partial index & images
• 1563-1890 Belgium Marriages, 1563-1890 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; partial index & images
  
• 1564-1900 Belgium Deaths and Burials, 1564-1900 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; partial index & images
• 1795-1910 Belgium, Civil Registration, 1795-1910 at My Heritage ($) - index
• International Genealogical Index (IGI) at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; partial index & images
• Birth,Death,Marriage,Divorce and Other Certificate procedures
• Church and Civil Records at Belgium State Archives; index & images ($)

Antwerp

• 1588-1913 Belgium, Antwerp, Civil Registration, 1588-1913, at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; partial index & images
• 1588-1913 Belgium, Antwerp, Civil Registration of Births at MyHeritage - index & images ($)
• 1800-1910 Belgium, Antwerp, Civil Registration of Marriages at MyHeritage - index & images ($)
• 1588-1913 Belgium, Antwerp, Civil Registration of Deaths at MyHeritage - index & images ($)

Brabant - includes Walloon Brabant, Flemish Brabant, and Brussels-Capital Region

• 1582-1897 Belgium, Brabant, Civil Registration of Deaths at MyHeritage — images ($)
• 1582-1914 Belgium, Brabant, Civil Registration, 1582-1914 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; partial index & images

East Flanders

• 1541-1950 Belgium, East Flanders, Civil Registration, 1541-1950 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; partial index & images
• 1541-1950 Belgium, East Flanders, Civil Registration of Births at MyHeritage - partial index & images ($)
• 1796-1961 Belgium, East Flanders, Civil Registration of Marriages at MyHeritage - partial index & images ($)
• Belgium, East Flanders, Civil Registration of Deaths at MyHeritage - index & images ($)

Hainaut

• 1600-1913 Belgium, Hainaut, Civil Registration, 1600-1913 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; partial index & images
• 1600-1913 Belgium, Hainaut, Civil Registration Of Births at MyHeritage - index ($)
• 1781-1998 Belgium, Hainaut, Civil Registration of Marriages at MyHeritage — index & images ($)
• 1780-1900 Belgium, Hainaut, Civil Registration of Deaths at MyHeritage - index ($)

Liège

• 1590-1947 Belgium, Liège, Church and Civil Registration, 1590-1947 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; partial index & images
• 1621-1914 Belgium, Liège, Civil Registration, 1621-1914 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; partial index & images
• 1621-1914 Belgium, Liège, Civil Registration Of Births at MyHeritage - index ($)
• 1774-1900 Belgium, Liège, Civil Registration of Marriages at MyHeritage — index & images ($)
• 1796-1901 Belgium, Liège, Civil Registration of Deaths at MyHeritage - index ($)
• 1808-1910 Liège, Pièces de mariage, (marriages) 1808-1910(*) at FamilySearch Catalog
• 1814-1870, 1896 Belgium, Liège, Verviers Arrondissement, civil registration, 1814-1870, 1896(*) at FamilySearch Catalog — index and images
  

Limburg

• 1668-1875 Belgium, Limburg, Lommel, Civil Registration and Church Records, 1668-1875 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; partial index & images
• 1787-1915 Belgium, Limburg, Civil Registration of Deaths at MyHeritage - index ($)
• 1798-1906 Belgium, Limburg, Civil Registration, 1798-1906 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; partial indexindex
• 1798-1906 Belgium, Limburg, Civil Registration of Births at MyHeritage - index ($)
• 1798-1922 Belgium, Limburg, Civil Registration of Marriages at MyHeritage — index & images ($)

Luxembourg

• 1580-1920 Belgium, Luxembourg, Civil Registration, 1580-1920 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; partial index & images

Namur

• 1776-Onward Belgium, Namur, Civil Registration of Births at MyHeritage — index & images ($)
• 1800-1912 Belgium, Namur, Civil Registration, 1800-1912 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; partial index & images
• 1800-1912 Belgium, Namur, Civil Registration of Marriages at MyHeritage — index & images ($)
• 1800-1912 Belgium, Namur, Civil Registration of Deaths at MyHeritage — index & images ($)

West Flanders

• 1582-1910 Belgium, West Flanders, Civil Registration, 1582-1910 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; partial index & images

State Archives Digital Images

Civil registration digital images are also online from the State Archives of Belgium (Rijksarchief in België/Les Archives de l'Etat en Belgique) has images and some indexes for records at least 100 years old. Free registration is required to view the records. The site comes in English, French, German or Dutch.

• Browsable Images
• Search by Person - Incomplete Indexes
• Search by Location - Incomplete Indexes

Arrangement and Indexes

Many smaller towns put births, marriages and deaths all together in chronological order, while later records and those from larger towns and cities usually divide the records into births, marriages and deaths separately.

There should be a handwritten index at the end of each year for each record type. Additionally, a ten-year index (tienjarige tafel / table décennale) was created indexing all births, marriages, and deaths in the municipality in either strict alphabetical order or organized by beginning letter then chronologically. The index provides the year, then either the act number, the date of the event, or the date of the registration of the event. You can then use these indexes to locate the original record. These indexes can be found at the State Archives or FamilySearch.

GeneaKnowHow

Geneaknowhow is a site that provides links to various local genealogical sites for Belgium and the Netherlands, including many containing civil registration records.

Offices to Contact

For the more recent records (after 1915), the locality keeps one copy and the other copies are turned over to the State Archives (Algemeen Rijksarchief/Archives Générales du Royaume in Brussels, or Rijksarchief in de Provinciën/Archives de l'État in the provinces). Researchers can access them by contacting:

The National Archives
Algemeen Rijksarchief Ruisbroekstraat 2
Brussels 1000
BELGIUM
Telephone: 32 2 513 76 80
Fax: 32 2 513 76 81
Website

Historical Background

In 1795-1796 what is now Belgium was conquered by the Napoleonic regime, who introduced a system of civil registration throughout their territories. The first records were written in French and used the French Revolutionary Calendar. In 1815, Belgium was merged with what is now the Netherlands, creating the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Netherlands had also been conquered by Napoleon and from 1811 had a Civil Registration system. Both countries continued with this system. In 1830 Belgium became independent, but continued to keep civil registration records in a manner very similar to the Dutch system.

The major languages of records in Belgium are Flemish (Dutch) in the North, and Walloon (French) in the South, and German in the East. To understand the records, you only need to know a few typical words such as those for mother, father, born, name, bride, groom, married, etc. Translation of these words are found under Online Digital Records for Civil Registration below and also on word lists for: Dutch, French and German.

Coverage and Compliance

"Vital records are on file from 1796, and the current registration is considered to be comprehensive."

Access to records in Belgium is unrestricted to for the following record types and years:

• Births: 100 years
• Marriages: 75 years
• Deaths: 50 years

Records later than these time periods are not open to the general public.

Information Recorded in the Records

Birth Records

A typical Belgium birth record contains:

• The child's name
• The birth place and date
• The names of the parents, their residence, occupations, sometimes ages
• The name of the informant, their occupation and sometimes age and relationship to the child

A Dutch birth record

Marriage Records

A typical Belgium marriage record contains:

• Names of the bride and groom
• Place and Date of the marriage
• Their ages, residences, occupations and birthplaces.
• The names of their parents, their occupations and sometimes ages or whether still alive, sometimes marriage information, residences, and occupations
• Any former spouses
• Witnesses, and their occupations, and who performed the ceremony

Marriage Supplements may contain

• Names of bride and groom
• Documents of birth or baptism records of the bride and groom
• Documents proving parents
• Documents of the deaths of the parents of the bride and groom
• Deaths of or divorces from former spouses
• Consent from the parents

Marriage proclamations may contain:

• Names of prospective marriage partners
• Their residence, age, occupation
• Their intended date of marriage
• Their parents

A Dutch marriage record

Death Records

A typical Belgium death record contains;

• Name of deceased,
• Their death date and place
• Their age, birthplace, occupation
• Their current and former spouses
• Cause of death
• Names of their parents, if known
• Children's names
• Name of the informant and their residence

A Dutch death record

Divorces

Divorces are listed on the back of the marriage registers in the municipality where the marriage took place. Includes names, ages, dates and places, occupations, residences.