Switzerland Notarial Records

Notarial records (Registres notariaux Registri dei notari)
Research use: Excellent linkage source. Records show vital information for individuals, families and relatives. Records are the best source prior to church records in French speaking areas.

Record type: Records kept by notaries chiefly in French and Italian cantons of local court matters regarding marriage contracts, permissions to marry, wills, divisions and inheritances, land records, living gifts, inventories, codicils, powers of attorney, contracts, orphans, declarations of legal age, bonds, etc.

Time Period: 1400-present. Some as early as 1275.

Content: Marriage contracts and permissions:  Names, relatives, witnesses, dates, conditions, properties, signatures. Wills and inventories: Testator’s names, heirs, witnesses, residences, dates, property descriptions, distributions, signatures. Divisions and inheritances: Heirs, sellers, buyers, witnesses, officials, residences, property descriptions, guardianship assignments for orphans, apprenticeships. Land records: Buyers, sellers, witnesses, residences, property descriptions. Living gifts: Names of parents, children, ages of children, dates, residences.

Location: State, city and notarial archives.

Population coverage: 20%.

Reliability: Very good.