France Record Finder

This table can help you decide which records to search.

Step 1. In column 1 select a research goal. Choose an ancestor you would like to know more about. What new information would you like to learn about that person?

Step 2. In column 2 find the types of records most likely to have the information you need.

> Read the FamilySearch Wiki articles about those types of records. They explain what the records might tell you, how to search them, and how to find them in the FamilySearch Catalog. Some records are not at the library.

Step 3. In column 3 find additional record types that may be useful.

> Records of previous research (such as Genealogy, Biography, History, Periodicals, and Societies) are useful for most goals but are not listed unless they are especially helpful.

What you are looking for:	Try these records first:	Other useful records:a
Age	Civil Registration, Church Records, Notarial Records, Schools	Naturalization and Citizenship, Emigration and Immigration
Birth date and birthplace	Civil Registration, Church Records, Notarial Records, Jewish Records	Census, Military Records, Cemeteries, Biography
City or parish of foreign birth	Naturalization and Citizenship	Emigration and Immigration
Boundaries (province, canton, arrondissement, department)	Gazetteers, Maps, History	Historical Geography, Church History
Death	Civil Registration, Church Records, Notarial Records, Jewish Records	Cemeteries, Probate Records, Biography
Emigration information	Emigration and Immigration	Societies, Minorities
Historical background	History, Church History	Maps, Minorities
Language helps	Language and Languages
Living relatives	Directories, Genealogy	Societies, Periodicals
Maiden name	Civil Registration, Church Records	Notarial Records
Marriage	Civil Registration,Church Records	Notarial Records, Biography
Naming Customs	Names (Personal)	Genealogy, Periodicals
Occupations	Directories, Church Records, Census	Emigration and Immigration, Military Records
Parents, children, and other family members	Civil Registration,Church Records, Genealogy, Societies, Nobility	Probate Records, Notarial Records, Heraldry, Biography
Physical description	Military Records, Biography	Emigration and Immigration
Place-finding aids	Gazetteers, Maps	Historical Geography
Place of residence	Civil Registration, Directories, Emigration and Immigration	Census, Voting Registers, Schools, Taxation
Previous research (compiled genealogy)	Genealogy, Periodicals, Societies, Church History	Biography, History, Nobility, Heraldry, Minorities
Record-finding aids	Archives and Libraries, Church History	Societies, Periodicals, Minorities
Religion	Civil Registration, Church Records	Minorities,Cemeteries