Netherlands - Birth - 1811-Present

On 6 January 1811 the French Imperial (Napoleon) decree served notice that by 1 March 1811 all births, marriages and deaths had to be recorded by the civil authorities of each municipality.

The following information will usually be found in a birth entry: •	The name of your ancestor. •	The date of your ancestor's birth. •	The name of your ancestor's parents. •	The names, ages, occupations, and residences of the witnesses. •	The relationships of the witnesses to your ancestor. •	The place of your ancestor's birth. •	The residence of the parents. •	The age and occupation of the parents. •	Whether your ancestor was of legitimate or illegitimate birth. The following 5 steps will guide you in finding your ancestor in the Netherlands’ civil registration records.

Step 1. Find the year of your ancestor's birth record. To find the birth records available at the library, look in the Family History Library Catalog. Go to What to Do Next, select the Family History Library Catalog, and click on the tab for Town Records to see if your ancestor's town is listed. When looking for your ancestor's birth record, remember: •	Birth records are arranged chronologically. •	Birth records were kept by the civil registration office in the municipality where your ancestor lived. •	Yearly indexes and 10-year indexes to the birth records exist.

If you don't know which municipality your ancestor lived in, see the Netherlands gazetteer 'Van Goor's aardrijkskundig woordenboek van Nederland'.

Step 2. Find the entry for your ancestor. Use the index first. Look for the last name, and then look for the given name. Record the date of registration and entry number. Next locate the entry. If you do not know the names of your ancestor's parents, you may have to check further to make sure you find the correct entry: •	Find the entries for all the children with the same given name and last name as your ancestor. Start with the year when you think your ancestor was born. Then check the entries for five years before and five years after. You may find several entries for children with the same name but with different parents. •	Eliminate the entries that contradict what you know about your ancestor. Check death records to see if any of the children died before your ancestor did. Check marriage records to see if any of the children married someone other than your ancestor's spouse (but remember that your ancestor may have married more than once). •	Try to make sure the birth entry is of your direct line ancestor. Because names are so common, you must be sure you have the correct entry.

Step 3. Find the entries for each brother and sister of your ancestor. Once you have the entry for your ancestor, find the entries for your ancestor's brothers and sisters: •	Search the birth records for entries of your ancestor's brothers and sisters. •	Search local death records or the birth records from surrounding municipalities, especially if there are gaps of 3 or more years between the births of siblings. Gaps of 3 or more years may indicate there was another child. •	To make sure you have found entries of all the family members, search death records and birth records of surrounding municipalities for any additional children. •	Search for children born before the parents' marriage. Children may have been born under the mother's maiden name. Sometimes the father's name is not given.

Step 4. Copy the information, and document your sources. If you can, photocopy the record. If you can't, be sure to copy all the information in the entry, including: •	All the people listed and their relationships to each other. (Remember, witnesses are often relatives.) •	All the dates in the entry and the events they pertain to. (Sometimes corrections to a birth record were added in the entry's margin.) •	All the localities in the entry and who was from the places listed. On the copy, document where the information came from. List: •	The type of source (a paper certificate, a microform, a book, an Internet site, and so forth). •	All reference numbers for the source. Carefully record any microfilm, book, or certificate numbers or the name and Internet address of the site you used. Step 5. Analyze the information you obtain from the birth record. To effectively use the information from the birth record, ask yourself the following questions: •	Is this the birth entry of my direct line ancestor? Because names are so common, you must be sure you have the correct record. •	Did the civil registrar identify both parents, and is the mother's maiden name given? •	Did more than 3 years pass since the birth of the last child? If so, another child may have been born in a neighboring municipality. •	Did you search 5 years without finding any earlier birth entries of children? If you find no other entries, then begin looking for the parents' marriage record.

1.Register of Births: Civil registration

Beginning in 1811, the government required civil registrars to keep birth records. These records included more information than the earlier church christening records.

What you are looking for Civil registers are the best source for determining when a person was born.

Why go to the next record Not all of the Dutch civil registry records have been microfilmed.

2.Marriage Register: Civil registration Beginning in 1811, the government required civil registrars to keep marriage records. These records included more information than the earlier church marriage records.

What you are looking for Couples were married when they were in their twenties and thirties. Marriage records may not give a birth or christening date, but they give the age of the bride and groom, making it possible to determine their approximate birth years.

Why go to the next record Not all civil register marriage records have been microfilmed.

3.Marriage Supplements: Civil registration Marriage supplements were required records when a couple wanted to marry. The bride and groom needed to prove their identity. They had to present an extract of their birth (or baptismal) record. The couple also needed their parents' permission to marry. If a parent had died, then an extract of his or her death record was required, and the grandparents gave permission to marry. If the grandparents had died, then (before 1842) extracts of their death records were also required.

What you are looking for When civil register marriage records do not exist, marriage supplement records are the best source for determining when a person was born. These records contain a copy of the birth or christening record of the bride and groom.

Why go to the next record Not all marriage supplement records have been microfilmed, and the dates of these records vary.

4.Death Record: Civil registration Beginning in 1811, the government required civil registrars to keep death records. These records include more information than earlier church burial records.

What you are looking for When marriage supplement records do not exist, civil registry death records are the best source for determining when a person was born. Death records may not give a birth or christening date, but they give a person's age, making it possible to determine his or her approximate birth year.

Why go to the next record Not all death records have been microfilmed.

5.Census: Census Census or population records were not kept with any consistency or regularity before 1850. If an age is given, use the records to estimate a person's birth date. After 1850, birth dates and places are given. The records can also help identify all the members of a family and help determine where a family originated.

What you are looking for When civil registry death records do not exist, census records are the best source for determining when a person was born. Census records will either give a birth date or a person's age, making it possible to determine his or her approximate birth year.

Why go to the next record Not all census records have been microfilmed, and the beginning date of these records varies from place to place.

6.Name Adoption Records: Names, Personal Name adoption records give surnames that people chose when the government began requiring them to have surnames. Ages or birth dates are frequently given. The records are often arranged in family groupings.

What you are looking for When census records do not exist, name adoption records are the best source for determining when a person was born. Name adoption records will either give a birth date or a person's age, making it possible to determine his or her approximate birth year.

Why go to the next record Not all name adoption records have been microfilmed, and the availability of these records varies from place to place.

7.Service Record: Military records Military records after 1700 provide the date and place of birth of every male that served in the military. The name of the father and his occupation may also be given.

What you are looking for When name adoption records do not exist, military records are the best source for determining when a male person was born. Military records will usually give a birth date or a person's age, making it possible to determine his approximate birth year.

Why go to the next record Not all military records have been microfilmed, and the beginning date of these records varies from place to place.