Bulgaria, Civil Registers - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language of the Record
България, гражданските регистри

Record Description
This collection contains images and some index entries of civil registers containing births, marriages, and deaths for the districts of Sofia and Pazardzhik, acquired from archives in Bulgaria.

Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the data and images published on FamilySearch.org. It may include the author, custodian, publisher and archive for the original records.

Suggested citation format for a record in this collection.

Record Content
Key genealogical facts found in birth records may include:


 * Date and time of birth
 * Name of newborn and parents
 * Occupation and religious preference of parents
 * Name of informant

Key genealogical facts found in marriage records may include:


 * Date of marriage
 * Parents’ names
 * Name of witnesses
 * Residence of the bride and groom

Key genealogical facts found in death records may include:


 * Date of death
 * Residence at the time of death
 * Age at death
 * Cause of death
 * Burial place

How to Use the Record
Begin your search by finding your ancestors in the index. Name indexes to baptisms, marriages, and death or burials make it possible to access a specific record quickly. Remember that these indexes may contain inaccuracies, such as altered spellings, misinterpretations, and optical character recognition errors if the information was scanned.

When searching the index it is helpful to know the following:


 * The place where the event occurred
 * The name and surname of the person
 * The approximate date of the event
 * The name of the parents or spouse

Use the locator information found in the index (such as page, entry, or certificate number) to locate your ancestors in the records. Compare the information in the record to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct person. You may need to compare the information of more than one person to make this determination.

When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. Add this new information to your records of each family.

Keep in mind: Earlier civil registration in Bulgaria was not as effective as it became after the rise of Communism in 1945. Family registers were used for vital information in 1920.

If you are unable to find the ancestors you are looking for, try the following:


 * Check for variant spellings of the surnames, particularly phonetic variants.
 * Check for a different index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby localities.

Related Websites

 * FEEFHS - The Federation of East European Family History Societies
 * Bulgaria State Archives

Related Wiki Articles

 * Bulgaria Civil Registration

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records.