Brunswick (Braunschweig), German Empire Civil Registration

Civil registration records are records of births, marriages, and deaths kept by the government. German terms for these records include Standesamtsregister, Zivilstandsregister, or Personenstandsregister. They are an excellent source for information on names and dates and places of births, marriages, and deaths. These records are kept by the civil registrar [German: Standesbeamte] at the civil registry office (Standesamt). Because they cover about 98% of the population and often provide more information than church records, civil registration records are important sources for German genealogical research, especially after 1876.

Determining the Location of a Civil Registration Office
Research your town name in MeyersGaz.org to find the location of the registry office (Standesamt). It is indicated by the abbreviation "StdA".

However, some of the offices were merged in 1970's, so the record location might be different than that listed in MeyersGaz.
 * For a small town within a larger municipality:
 * To find the current Standesamt, go to the German Wikipedia, and enter the name of the town in the search box. An article about the town will start with a first line such as: "Besse with about 3200 inhabitants is the largest district of the municipality Edermünde in Hessian Schwalm-Eder-Kreis ." It is probable that the Standesamt is now located in the municipality (in this example Edermünde).
 * Email the municipality to verify that the civil registry for your town is there.
 * From the town article, click on the name of the municipality that links to that article.
 * There will usually be an infobox on the right side of page that lists the address and the website of the municipality.
 * From the website, look for Kontakt (Contact) information with an email address. Send a message asking whether you have the correct office for your ancestors' home town.


 * For larger towns:
 * Follow the same instructions above.
 * The infobox with the website will appear directly on a this page.

Information Recorded
Each state used a different format for civil registration. The information recorded in civil registration records varies slightly over time.

Births (Geburtsregister)
Birth records usually give:
 * the child's name;
 * sex; and
 * birth date, time, and place.
 * father's name, age, occupation, and residence
 * mother's maiden name, age, and marital status
 * names, ages, and residences of witnesses
 * parents' religion is also listed in some states.

Marriage Registers (Heiratsregister)
Civil officials recorded the marriages they performed, usually on preprinted forms bound in a book and kept in the civil registration office. Marriage registers give:
 * the date and time of the marriage
 * bride's and groom's names,
 * bride's and groom's ages, birth dates, birthplaces,
 * bride's and groom's residences, occupations, and
 * whether they were single or widowed.
 * the parents' names, residence, occupations, marital status, and whether they were living at the time of the marriage.
 * witnesses' names, ages, and relationships to the bride or groom
 * the couple's religion, especially after 1874.

Intention to Marry
If you believe a marriage took place but cannot find a marriage record, search records that indicate the couple's “intent to marry.” Various records may have been created to show a couple's intent to marry:


 * Proclamations (Aufgebote or Eheverkündigungen) were made a few weeks before a couple planned to marry. The couple may have been required to announce their intentions in order to give other community members the opportunity to object to the marriage.
 * Marriage Supplements (Heiratsbeilagen) were often filed by the bride or groom to support their marriage application. Information included may document their births, their parents' deaths, and the groom's release from military service. Sometimes the records contain information about earlier generations.
 * Contracts (Ehekontrakte) are documents created to protect legal rights and property of spouses. These may give the same information as the marriage supplements noted above. They also list property and are usually found in court records rather than in civil registration records.
 * Marriage Permission Papers (Verehelichungsakten) are documents created in the process of obtaining permission to get married. Some states required prospective spouses to get permission from the local city council or mayor before they could be married. For Bavaria and Hessen-Nasssau many of these files have been microfilmed. They may be cataloged under "court records", "civil registration", or "public records."

Deaths (Sterberegister or Totenregister)
Civil death records often exist for individuals for whom there were no birth or marriage records. nformation about parents, the birth date, the birthplace, and other information about the deceased may be inaccurate, depending on the informant's knowledge. Early death records can give:
 * the name of the deceased and
 * the date, time, and place of death
 * the age, birthplace, residence, occupation, and marital status of the deceased
 * the name of the parents or spouse and their residences
 * the informant's name, age, occupation, residence, and relationship
 * the person's religion.

1. Microfilm Copies of Civil Registration From FamilySearch
Try to find records in the collection of the FamilySearch Library. Many microfilms have been digitized for online viewing. Gradually, everything will be digitized, so check back occasionally. Some have viewing restrictions, and can only be viewed at the Family History Centers near you. To find records:
 * a. Click on the records of Braunschweig, Germany.
 * b. Click on Places within Germany, Braunschweig and a list of towns will appear.
 * c. Click on your town. If the town or village is not listed, find the town in '''Meyer's Gazetteer. See where the Standesamt (StdA.) was. It may have been in different place, because of the size of the town.
 * b. Click on the "Civil registration" topic, if available. Click on the blue links to specific record titles.
 * c. Choose the correct record type and time period for your ancestor. "Geburten" are births. Heiraten are marriages.  "Verstorbene" are deaths.
 * d. Some combination of these icons will appear at the far right of the microfilm listed for the record. FHL icons.png. The magnifying glass indicates that the microfilm is indexed. Clicking on the magnifying glass will take you to the index. Clicking on the camera will take you to an online digital copy of the microfilm.

2. Writing for Civil Registration Certificates
Civil registration records for Germany can be obtained by writing to the local civil registry (Standesamt) or the district archives. Records may have been lost at one location of the other, so you might end up checking both. The first office you contact might choose to forward your request to the other location if necessary.

Local Standesamt Address

 * Standesamt Addresses in Niedersachsen. Be sure to search this list in the original German, not the English translation.  Otherwise, you will see strange translated town names like "Meadow", "Field",  instead of the real German name. Use the Command + F (Find) tool on your computer.

How to Write the Letter
Detailed instruction for what to include in the letter, plus German translations of the questions and sentences most frequently used are in the German Letter Writing Guide.

Reading the Records

 * It's easier than you think! You do not have to be fluent in French and German to use these records, as there is only a limited vocabulary used in them. By learning a few key phrases, you will be able to read them adequately.  Here are some resources for learning to read German records.
 * German Genealogical Word List
 * German Handwriting


 * These video webinars will teach you to read German handwriting:
 * Old German Script Part 1
 * Old German Script Part 2
 * Old German Script (German Church and Civil Records) Part 3


 * Also online interactive slideshow lessons are available to help you learn to read these records:
 * . In this lesson, you will explore several types of German genealogical records, including birth, baptismal, marriage, and death records.
 * German Script Tutorial
 * . In this lesson, you will explore several types of German genealogical records, including birth, baptismal, marriage, and death records.
 * German Script Tutorial

This converter will show you how any phrase or name might look in German script:
 * Kurrentschrift Converter (enter German genealogical word, click on "convert", view your word in Kurrentschrift (Gothic handwriting)

Search Strategy

 * Search for the relative or ancestor you selected. When you find his birth record, search for the births of his brothers and sisters.
 * Next, search for the marriage of his parents. The marriage record will have information that will often help you find the birth records of the parents.
 * You can estimate the ages of the parents and determine a birth year to search for their birth records.
 * Search the death registers for all known family members.
 * Repeat this process for both the father and the mother, starting with their birth records, then their siblings' births, then their parents' marriages, and so on.
 * If earlier generations (parents, grandparents, etc.) do not appear in the records, search neighboring parishes.