France Civil Registration: Difference between revisions

'''Certificates [certificats]'''. You can obtain a marriage certificate from the last hundred years from the registrar's office [bureau de l'état civil]at the town hall [mairie]. A copy of a marriage certificate will be sent by mail to direct descendants only.  

'''Marriage register [registre des actes de mariage]'''. Civil officials recorded the marriages they performed, usually in a prescribed paragraph format, bound in a book and kept in the registrar's office.  

The civil marriage registers give many details, such as the birth date and birthplace of the bride and groom and their parents' names, including mother's maiden surname. If the parents have died, their death date and death place are recorded. More recent civil marriage records may even include the same information for the grand-parents. There are usually four witnesses listed, with their age, occupation, residence, and relationship. Civil marriage records contain the complete birth information of the couple's children who are born out of wedlock. If a marriage contract was made, the date, the name of the notary, and the town where this contract was written may be included. Civil marriage records may also mention the date of the banns [publications].  

'''Family civil registration booklets [livrets de famille].''' After 1877 the civil registrar gave a booklet to each couple he married. This booklet includes an extract of the marriage record and references to the marriage contract. The couple was responsible for taking the booklet to the registrar as each of their children was born. The registrar would update the booklet with the child's birth information and return the booklet to the parents. The registrar also recorded deaths in this booklet. Families keep possession of their family civil registration booklets and often hand them down to their children.