Germany Civil Registration: Difference between revisions

==Definition==

Civil&nbsp;registration&nbsp;records&nbsp;are&nbsp;records of births, marriages, and deaths kept by the government. German terms for these records include Standesamtsregister, Zivilstandsregister, or Personenstandsregister. They are an excellent source for information on names and dates and places of births, marriages, and deaths. These records are kept by the civil registrar [German: Standesbeamte] at the civil registry office (Standesamt). Because they cover about 98% of the population and often provide more information than church records, civil registration records are important sources for German genealogical research. <br><br>

==Availability==

*Civil registration in the German Empire began between 1792 and 1876, depending on the locality.

*As France's influence increased in Germany, '''Hamburg, Hannover, Hessen, Lübeck, Oldenburg, and Westfalen''' established civil registration between 1799 and 1811.

=== Privacy Laws  ===

Since 1 January 2009 the records are accessible to any researcher after these time periods have passed:

 

*births: 110 years

*marriages: 80 years

*deaths: 30 years

 

A direct relationship to the subject of the record sought will only be required in cases where the required time period has not yet elapsed. Even then, the records may be accessible if it can be shown that all "participating parties" have died at least 30 years ago. Participating parties are both parents and the child in birth records, and both spouses in a marriage.

Civil registration records were kept at the local civil registration office (Standesamt). Most civil registers are still located at the local civil registration offices, but some are collected in city or state archives.<br>

 

The collections of FamilySearch continue to grow as new records are microfilmed or digitized. Do not give up if the records you need are not available. FamilySearch.org is updated frequently and new historical collections are being added continuously. Check it periodically to see if the records you need have been added.

*Through LAGIS: [http://www.lagis-hessen.de/en/subjects/index/sn/pstr LAGIS Hessian Vital Records]. Enter standesamt name in search box. The standesamt is listed in [http://www.meyersgaz.org/ '''Meyersgaz.org'''] after the abbreviation '''"StdA"'''.

 

 

After determining who has jurisdiction over the&nbsp;records for the time period you need, write a short request to the proper office. Be careful not to ask for too much when writing German archives. They can briefly answer questions about the records in their collection, but are often reluctant to do research in these records. You may have more success if you ask for a referral or a list of local researchers you could hire to search the archive's records. See [[German Letter Writing Guide]] for more information about writing letters to Germany.

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