Poland Civil Registration: Difference between revisions

Births, marriages, and deaths were written in the civil registration records as they occurred and thus are arranged chronologically. Where available, indexes can help you find your ancestor more easily. Although registration took place in local towns, copies of the records may have been sent to archives. Some records include a yearly index at the end.

The Family History Library has microfilmed the civil registration records of many towns in the former Prussian areas of Poland. They are rarely available more recently than about 1890 because the  microfilming of records less than 110 years old is restricted. The specific holdings of the Family History Library are listed in the Family History Library Catalog. To find civil registration records in the Family History Library, search in the Place section under:

The library’s collection continues to grow. Do not give up if records are not available yet. The Family History Library Catalog is updated annually. Check it again every year for the records you need.

Birth, marriage, divorce, and death records may be found by contacting local civil registration offices or archives in Poland. To protect the rights of privacy of living persons, most modern records have restrictions on their use and access.

The present location of records depends on the age of the record book. Records older than 100 years are generally in local civil registration offices, and older ones are in state archives. If you write to the Directorate of the Polish State archives, they will forward your request to the appropriate archive or civil registration office. When writing to the Polish state archives, do not send money. They will bill you for services.

The strategies for using civil registration records are essentially the same as for church records. Since civil registration began quite late in Poland, research in civil records will usually lead back to church registers within one or two generations.

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