For blank civil registration record for birth, marriage, and death, as well as transcriptions and translations of each, see the handout from this presentation.
This month we discussed the history of civil registration in Germany. The earliest time these records appeared was during the Napoleonic era. The French government enacted civil registration in 1792, and as Napoleon took over German territory west of the Rhine, these areas also began using this format rather than church records for recording vital events. In 1798, four new territories created by Napoleon in Germany were using this format:
- Département de Rhin-et-Moselle
- Département de la Roer
- Département de la Sarre
- Département du Mont-Tonnerre
By 1814, other areas of Germany, including the Baltic states and areas along the North Sea coast had also been converted to this format. After Napoleon’s defeat, civil registration was rescinded by the Congress of Vienna in 1815, but continued to be used in some places, such as Bremen and Lübeck.
The implementation of Napoleonic civil registration varied by time and area. Earliest records are almost completely handwritten. Later, forms with fill-in-the-blanks were used. Some records may be written completely in French; even the names of the people in the record may be converted to French, so instead of Johann Friedrich, you’ll see Jacques Frédéric. Some records will use the French Republican calendar for the date, so you’ll have to use a conversion tool to find out the date in the Gregorian calendar. The record may mention the Napoleonic Departement rather than the German state that the town belonged to before and after this era.
By 1 October 1874, Prussia imposed civil registration on its territories, and on 1 January 1876, all parts of Germany were required to use civil registration records for official purposes rather than church records as before. After this point, a marriage was not considered legal unless it was conducted in person at the Standesamt. And the Standesamt marriage preceded a church ceremony.
In addition to birth, marriage, and death records, for a short time between 1938 and 2009, there was also a Familienbuch which could be used as a form of official identification. The Familienbuch was issued to a couple upon their marriage, and records the birth and marriage date of the couple, their parents, and any children resulting from he marriage; confirmations, deaths, and burials could also be recorded here. Since the Familienbuch was issued to the couple and kept by them, you are not likely to find them in archives or on microfilm. Perhaps if you are lucky enough, one may still exist in your own family.
The Standesamt is the place where vital events must be registered. Most towns have their own Standesamt, which may be located at the same place as the town hall, or may be a separate building. Smaller towns might be incorporated into the next larger town, and large cities may have a Standesamt for each district within the city. Note that districts might change as population grows, so the same address might be in Standesamt II one year and Standesamt IV years later.
Current records are kept at the local Standesamt. Older records may be moved to a state or local archive. What constitutes current? To some degree, it is up to the jurisdiction’s discretion. They may keep an original copy locally, and send a duplicate to the archive. You can write to the Standesamt to find out if they have the records you’re looking for. The website Standesamt.com is the best place to find out current information about the Standesamt for a given place. Meyers Gazetteer can also be used to find the Standesamt from the early 1900s.
When civil registration was first implemented, only direct-line relatives with proper identification could get copies of the records. In 2009, the law was changed so that anyone can get a copy after a certain amount of time has passed since the event –
- Births – 110 years
- Marriages – 80 years
- Deaths – 30 years
You can find civil registration records at FamilySearch, Ancestry, and MyHeritage, as well as some archives in Germany. These records will not be available at Archion or Matricula, as these sites currently only have church records. The records will be catalogued under the place they were created. So even though a place may have come under French control in the Napoleonic era, the records will still be found in Germany, not France. Search terms to use include Personenstandsregister, Zivilstandsregister, Melderegister, or Standesamtsregister.
Each of the civil registration forms is set up with a wide margin on the right or left side. This area is used to record margin notes, which should never be ignored, because they may contain valuable information. Margin notes come in two types –
- Randvermerke are notes that change the information in the original record. Sometimes it’s as simple as saying that x number of preprinted words or lines were crossed out. Sometimes they may correct information such as the spelling of a name, a date, and so forth.
- Hinweise are remarks that add information to the original record, such as a marriage, divorce, or death date. They may also note the birth of a child on a couple’s marriage record, or a further marriage of one of the spouses.
Sources for further information include the following:
- FamilySearch, Ancestry, MyHeritage, by location
- German state and local archives
- Local Standesamt
- Reading German Civil Birth, Marriage, and Death Records
- Reading German Civil Birth Records
- Reading German Civil Marriage Records
- Reading German Civil Death Records
- FamilySearch Wiki on Civil Registration
- FamilySearch video series on Civil Registration