Netherlands Civil Registration

Burgelijke Stand / Civil Registration
General Historical Background

The earliest vital records in the Netherlands were kept by the churches. Civil authorities began recording marriages and often also deaths of nonconformists in 1575. France annexed the country between 1795 and 1811.

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 civil officers were made responsible for keeping vital records. Civil registration was accomplished by requiring the people to report all births, marriages, and deaths to a civil registration office [Burgerlijke Stand], located in the municipality [gemeente]. After Napoleon's defeat, the Dutch government continued the civil registration system.

In some southern areas Napoleon had already conquered, this recording had started earlier. After this date all individuals who lived in the Netherlands are recorded. They cover the entire population and have one year and 10 year indexes. Civil registration records are the most important source for genealogical research in the Netherlands and are easily accessible.

Geboorten / Births
The following information will usually be found in a birth entry:
 * The name of the child.
 * The birth date of the child.
 * The birth place of the child.
 * The name of the child's parents.
 * The names, ages, occupations, and residences of the witnesses.
 * The relationships of the witnesses to the child, if any.
 * The residence of the parents.
 * The age and occupation of the parents.
 * It will never say if the child is legitimate or illegitimate.

If a child was born out of wedlock it will just not mention a father, even if he is known. If the child's parents do later marry and acknowlegde the child as theirs, it will mention this in the margin. At that time the last name of the child will also change from the mother's last name to the father's last name.

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: If you don't know which municipality your ancestor lived in, see the Netherlands gazetteer Van Goor's aardrijkskundig woordenboek van Nederland. Instructions for using this gazetteer are found in How to use the Netherlands Gazetteer.
 * 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.

''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 or download it on a disc or flashdrive/thumbdrive. If you can't, be sure to copy all the information in the entry, including: On the copy, document where the information came from. List:
 * 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.
 * 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.

Huwelijken / Marriage
What You Are Looking For The following information will usually be found in a marriage entry:
 * The names of your ancestors.
 * The date of your ancestors' marriage.
 * The names of your ancestors' parents and their residence and occupation, if living.
 * The ages of your ancestors.
 * The place of your ancestors' birth and/or where they were residing when married.
 * The occupation of the groom.
 * Whether the bride and groom were single or widowed before the marriage.
 * The names of the witnesses, their ages, occupations, residence, and relationship to the bride or groom, if any.

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 marriage record.''

To find the marriage records available at the library, look in the Family History Library Catalog. Go to the Family History Library Catalog, and click on the tab for Town Records to see if your ancestor's town is listed. If you can't find it listed you can search in Wikipedia and search for the town. If it states that it is a municipality, it means that it has its own governmental records, if it states that it is a village in ..... (name of city) then you need to look for records in that city.

When looking for your ancestor's marriage record, remember:
 * Marriage records are arranged chronologically.
 * Marriage records were kept by the civil registration office in the municipality where your ancestor lived.
 * Yearly indexes and 10-year indexes to the marriage records exist.
 * The index is arranged by the husband's last name.

''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 marriage and entry number. Next locate the entry. For more help in finding the record entry, see Tip 1.

How do I find the entry of my ancestor? In some indexes, only the first letter of the surname is in alphabetical order. The index may only contain grooms' names. A brides index may be separate or not exist.
 * Tip 1.

For help in reading the record entry, see Tip 2.

What if I can't read the record? Civil registration records are written in Dutch. The language used in the record may also be in French during the time Napoleon occupied the country.
 * Tip 2.

''Step 3. Copy the information, and document your sources.''

If you can, photocopy the record or download it on a disc or flashdrive/thumbdrive. 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.
 * 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 4. Analyze the information you obtain from the marriage record.''

To effectively use the information from the marriage record, ask yourself the following questions:
 * Is this the marriage entry of my direct line ancestors? Because names are so common, you must be sure you have the correct record.
 * Were additional event dates, such as birth, death, etc., given in the entry? (Each couple had to produce identifying documents including copies of their birth/christening certificates, death certificates of parents and/or former spouses, and sometimes of grandparents if applicable.) While these documents are contained in a separate packet, the information may also be recorded within the marriage entry.

Echtscheidingen / Divorce Records
Divorce cases are handled by the district courts. A record of the divorce will be recorded at the back of the marriage register of the municipality where the couple lived at the time of their divorce. For large cities in later years they will be in separate registers. There is sometimes a note in the margin of the original marriage record. Divorces before the 20th century were uncommon.

Overlijden / Deaths
Death records are especially helpful because they may provide important information on a person’s birth, spouse, and parents. Civil death records often exist for individuals whom there are no birth or marriage records for. Deaths were usually registered within three days of the death in the municipality where the person died. If the deceased person was not a resident of that town, often a copy would be sent to that person's residence.

Information you can find in the death record:


 * The names of your ancestors.
 * The date of your ancestors' death.
 * The names of your ancestors' parents.
 * The names of your ancestors' spouse.
 * The age of your ancestor at the time of death.
 * The place of your ancestors' birth.
 * The occupation of the deceased.
 * The names of the witnesses, their ages, occupations, residence, and relationship if any.

Remember, married women are always recorded under their maiden surname. The informant’s name (often a relative) is also given. Information about parents, the birth date and birthplace of the deceased, and other information in a death record may be inaccurate since the person who gave the information may not have had complete information.

Children who died before the declaration of birth was made, are recorded as stillborn and are found only in the death records. This also means that when a child is recorded as stillborn it may not necessarily be true, as a birth had to be recorded within 3 days of birth. In other words, if the child died within those three days, it would most likely not be recorded in the birth records.

When looking for a stillborn child you may have to look in the index under 'L' for 'Levenloos' (stillborn), or under the father's or mother's last name.

Those people who were born without a fixed surname are probably recorded under a different name (like a patronymic surname) in the death records.

The Centraal Bureau voor Genealogie or cbg has records of everyone who has died since 1940.