Belgium Civil Registration

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.

Arrangement and Indexes[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

"Vital records are on file from 1796, and the current registration is considered to be comprehensive."^[1]

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[edit | edit source]

Birth Records[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

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.

References[edit | edit source]

↑ Thomas Jay Kemp, “International Vital Records Handbook, 5th Edition,” Genealogical Publishing Co, Inc. Baltimore : 2009.

[1] Thomas Jay Kemp, “International Vital Records Handbook, 5th Edition,” Genealogical Publishing Co, Inc. Baltimore : 2009.

[1]