Denmark Civil Marriages - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language of the Collection
Danmark Borgerlige vielser (Dansk)

Record Description
This Collection will include records from 1851 to 1961.

The earliest records are handwritten in narrative style. Beginning in 1923, entries were recorded in books containing pre-printed forms. These records cover only individuals who were not members of -- or who chose not to marry in -- the state church. Consequently, the population coverage is quite low. These records do not cover any parts of Denmark that were under German administration to 1920. These counties were Tønder, Haderslev, Åbenrå, and Sønderborg.

The records in this collection are for the years 1851-1959. Please note this collection may have indexes for records that are not included. For example, this collection contains an index to civil marriages in Copenhagen City, 1851-1896, but only has records for 1851-1875.

For a list of records by date or locality currently published in this collection, select the Browse link from the collection landing page.

Civil marriages were first allowed in Denmark in 1851. The marriage was recorded with the district sheriff in rural areas and with the magistrate in cities. The marriage was recorded in special notarial registers. These registers vary in content and arrangement by area. Some include a considerable number of supporting documents, such as baptismal certificates, while others record only the names and residences of the bridal couple. In 1923 the registration process was changed by legislation enacted in 1922. This made the mayor the registering officer in the cities and the parish sheriff the registrar in rural areas. The registration form was also standardized into a columnar format. Regions of Denmark that belonged to Germany had a separate system of registration.

Civil registration of marriage legitimized marriage for members of the population who were not adherents of the state church.

Record Content
Civil marriage records usually contain the following information:


 * Names of the bride and groom
 * Marriage date
 * Ages, and sometimes the birth dates of the bride and groom
 * Residence of bride and groom
 * Occupation of the bride and groom

How to Use the Record
To begin your search you will need to know:
 * Name of the bride and groom
 * Identifying information such as the marriage date and place

Search the Collection
To search the collection by name fill in your ancestor’s name in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about those in the list to what you already know about your own ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person.

If you did not find the person you were looking for, you may need to search the collection by image. ⇒Select the "Browse" link in the initial search page ⇒Select the "County" ⇒Select the "Municipality" ⇒Select the "Record Type and Inclusive Dates" which takes you to the images.

Look at each image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination.

With either search keep in mind:
 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names or variations of their name throughout their life.

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article [FamilySearch Tips and Tricks].

Language Help
These records are in Danish. For help reading the records see the wiki articles:


 * Danish Word List
 * Denmark Language and Languages

Related Websites

 * Danish Genealogy Records
 * Denmark Genealogy Links

Related Wiki Articles

 * Denmark
 * Denmark Civil Registration
 * Denmark Birth, Marriage, and Death Search Strategies 1467 - Present
 * Denmark, Church Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Denmark Baptisms (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Denmark Marriages (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Denmark Burials (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the information for collections published in FamilySearch.org. Source citations include the author, custodian, publisher and archive for the original records.