Bosnia and Herzegovina Church Records

For information about records for non-Christian religions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, go to the Religious Records page.

Introduction
Parish registers are records of baptisms, marriages, and burials kept by parish priests. The term may also be used to refer to records of denominations that had jurisdictions other than parishes. Of the Christian population of Bosnia, most Croatians are Catholic and most Serbians are Orthodox. Church records started in the 1800s and exist to the present.

Parish registers usually include information such as: names, family members (such as parents or spouse), residence, relationships, and dates and places (of birth and baptism, marriage, death and burial). Marriages and burials include age. Baptisms include names of the godparents. Entries sometimes identify residence for those not in the parish.

Church records can be used to uniquely identify individuals, prove relationships, and connect generations.

How to Access the Records
Based on the pattern in Serbia, it is assumed the records are located in churches and in various archives (national, historical, and community).