Czechia Beginners Corner Finding Your Ancestor in the Records

Before finding your ancestor in the records, you will need to know:


 * The actual name of an ancestor
 * The date of birth, marriage, and death (can be estimated)
 * The place of origin
 * The religion of an ancestor

Click here if you are missing any of the above listed information.

Find your ancestor in the records

The best sources of genealogical information in the Czech Republic are the church records kept by the local parishes. The Family History Library has microfilms of vital records from only a few German-speaking communities and a limited number of published census returns. Use the FamilySearch Catalog to determine what records are available for the locality.

Most of the Czech vital records were digitized and made available on the Internet. To find out which archive holds the records that you need click here. You may use this gazetteer for free however you will have to register first. Please be sure to spell the locality name correctly. When you know the respective archive, locate Online Databases section on the Czech Republic home page in the FamilySearch Research Wiki.

Research by mail

If the records you want are not available through the Family History Library or online they may be available through the individual Czech regional archives. Please refer to the Letter Writing Guide for detailed information. Remember to enclose photocopies of any old documents or mementos that you may have.