Romania Archives and Libraries

Records Access
Access to records in Romania is granted by the first two sections of Article 31, Title II, Chapter 2 of the 1991 Constitution:
 * 1) A person's right of access to any information of public interest shall not be restricted
 * 2) The public authorities according to their competence, shall be bound to provide correct information of the citizens in public affairs and matters of personal interest.

The physical condition of some records may preclude direct access to the material. This may also prohibit photocopying or imaging of the record. Where records have been transcribed those will generally be offered in place of the original copy.

Archives staff may only be able to do limited research, if at all. If they are, they are authorized to charge for the service and any copies made. Requests must be specific in nature.

European Union privacy laws may limit access to materials less than 100 years old. Records may only be available to persons who can document they are direct descendants of the persons identified in the requested records. If the record concerns a person who is still living it may be necessary to secure their written permission.

National Archives of Romania
Government records in Romania are kept in a system of archives under the National Archives in Bucuresti. Church records were also added to the system during the Communist era.The system consists of a central national archive in the capital, Bucuresti, and 41 regional archives, one for each of the counties, and one for the municipality of Bucuresti. Records of the Secret Police and Military records are kept in separate archives, and are listed at the bottom of the page.

A permit is required for onsite searching of the archives, which must be obtained at the archive where you will be doing your research. The permit lasts two years, but only covers the archive where it was issued. If you want to do research at a different archive site in the system, you will need to get a permit at that site also. To obtain the permit, you will fill out an application which will be at the archive. As the permit is a photo identification, you will need to bring a passport or smaller photo with you when you apply for the permit. Permits are generally issued the same or next day. You can request records from the archive as soon as you receive your permit. There is no charge for the permit. There is a daily charge for copying or taking photographs of the records.

Address: Arhivele Nationale ale Romaniei Bulevardul Regina Elisabeta 49 050013 Bucuresti 5, Romania

Website: www.arhivelenationale.ro

Regional Archives
Each regional archive has a page on the National Archives website. To access the page of a regional archive, start at the main page of the national archives site. Then, consult the national archives website by doing the following: click on the Romania flag to go to the Romanian version of the website. Then click on the tab labeled "Directii Judetene". A page will appear with a box that says alege, click on the arrow to the right. A list of the regional archives will appear. Click on the archive for the county that you want. The page for this specific archive site will come up and all the information about that site will be displayed.

In addition, if you scroll down the page for the regional archive you will see a link labeled "Lista Fondurilor si Colectilor date in cercetare de catre Serviciul Judetean". If you click on the link, a PDF will come up that lists all the records in that archive. To the left of the description or name of each file is a number. You will use this number to order the file at the archive.

The addresses of the regional archives in alphabetical order appear below. Postal codes are included where available. For phone and email addresses, consult the page for the regional archive. Some archives also post their hours on the website. Correspondence to regional archives should be addressed to: Directia Judeteanu [name of judet] a Arhivelor Nationale. For more information on how to write letters, visit the Romania Letter Writing Guide wiki page.


 * Judet Alba (AB): Strada Mihai Viteazu 29; 510010 Alba Julia, Romania
 * Judet Arad (AR): Strada Ceaikovski 2-6; 310052 Arad, Romania
 * Judet Bacau (BC): Strada Vasile Alecsandri 5; 600010 Bacau, Romania
 * Judet Bihor (BH): Piata Independentei 39; 410076 Oradea, Romania
 * Judet Bistrita-Nasaud (BN): Strada Garii 3-5; Bistrita, Romania
 * Judet Botosani (BT): Strada Col V Tomoroveanu 9; 710078 Botosani, Romania
 * Judet Braila (BR): Strada Plevna 8 bis; 810111 Braila, Romania
 * Judet Brasov (BV): Strada Gh Baritiu 34; 500025 Brasov, Romania
 * Directia Municipuilui Bucuresti; Calea Vacaresti 470 Bucuresti 4, Romania
 * Judet Buzau (BZ): Bulevardul Nicolae Bascescu 42; 120187 Buzau, Romania
 * Judet Calarasi (CL): Strada Pompierilor 1; 910002 Calarasi, Romania
 * Judet Caras-Severin (CS): Strada Sesul Rosu 12; Caransebes, Romania
 * Judet Cluj (CJ): Strada Mihail Kogalnicieanu 100, 400084 Cluj, Romania
 * Judet Constanta (CT): Strada Stefan cel Mare 121, 900705 Constanta, Romania
 * Judet Covasna (CV): Bulevardul Gen Grigore Balan 12, 520013 Sfantu Gheorghe, Romania
 * Judet Dambovita (DB): Strada Plutonier Ditescu Stan 6, 130015 Targoviste, Romania
 * Judet Dolj (DJ): Strada Libertatii 34; Craiova, Romania
 * Judet Galati (GL): Strada Constructorilor 2; 800360 Galati, Romania
 * Judet Giurgui (GR): Bulevardul CFR 7; Giurgiu, Romania
 * Judet Gorj (GJ): Strada I C Popilian 32-34; Targu-Jui, Romania
 * Judet Harghita (HR): Strada Bulevardul Fratei 6, 530112 Harghita, Romania
 * Judet Hunedoara (HD): Strada Aurel Vlaicu 2; 330005 Deva, Romania
 * Judet Ialomita (IL): Strada Al Odobescu 4; 920025 Slobozia, Romania
 * Judet Iasi (IS0: Bulevardul Carol I #26; Iasi, Romania
 * Judet Ilfov (IF): Strada Leaota 2A; Bucuresti 6, Romania
 * Judet Maramures (MM): Bulevardul Bucuresti 26; Baia Mare, Romania
 * Judet Mehedinti (MH): Bulevardul Carol I #75; 240149 Drobeta Turnu-Severin, Romania
 * Judet Mures (MS): Strada Crizantemelor 8; 540073 Targu-Mures, Romania
 * Judet Neamt (NT): Strada V A Urechia 4-6; Piatra Neamt, Romania
 * Judet Olt (OT): Strada Primaverii 15; 230002 Slatina, Romania
 * Judet Prahova (PH): Strada Logofat Tautu 3; 100573 Ploiesti, Romania
 * Judet Salaj (SJ): Strada Tudor Vladimirescu 26A; 450067 Zalau, Romania
 * Judet Satu Mare (SM): Strada 1 Decembrie 1918 #13; 44001 Satu Mare, Romania
 * Judet Sibiu (SB): Strada Arhivelor 3; 550164 Sibiu, Romania
 * Judet Suceava (SV): Strada Stefan cel Mare 33; 720003 Suceava, Romania
 * Judet Teleorman (TR): Soseaua Turnu Magurele 5; 140003 Alexandria, Romania
 * Judet Timis (TM): Strada Andrei Mocioni 8; 300038 Timisoara, Romania
 * Judet Tulcea (TL): Strada Isaccei 173; Tulcea, Romania
 * Judet Valcea (VL): Strada General Praporgescu 16; Ramnicu Valcea, Romania
 * Judet Vaslui (VS): Strada Mihail Kogalniceanu 2; Vaslui, Romania
 * Judet Vrancea (VN): Strada Dimitrie Cantemir 19; 620098 Focsani, Romania

Please note that all phone numbers in Romania begin with zero, this corresponds to Romania's country code of 40. For example, the switchboard at the central archive is listed as 021/303 7080, the number from outside Romania is +(40) 21 303 7080.

Some cities in Romania have the same name. This can occur when the two cities were originally in different countries, or one city was destroyed, another built, and then the original city was rebuilt. In correspondence, two things can distinguish cities, the postal code and if you add the county code to the address after the city name, just like the state code in a United States address. County codes appear below in parentheses after the county name. Bucuresti does not use a code, but you should specify which sector (1-6) the address is in.

Romanian Military Archives
The Romanian Military Archives has two locations: Centru de Studii si Pastrare a Arhivelor Militar Istorice Strada Aleea Poarta Eroilor 110058 Pitesti, ROMANIA

Serviciul Istoric al Armatei Strada Drumul Taberei 9-11 061353 Bucuresti 6, ROMANIA

Just as with the National Archives, a permit is required for onsite access the archives and can be obtained onsite via postal mail or via email. An application for a permit can be found on the Archives' website. All military records are classified, therefore a security check is required before the permit is issued. The issuance of the permit take a month or more for non-Romanians, so it is advised that application be made in advance to the onsite visit. The time is just a few days for Romanians, so advance application may not be necessary. In addition, records may viewed only by a direct descendant of the person the record is about.

Center for Studies of the Securitate
The Securitate was the secret police that functioned under the Communist government from 1945 - 1989. The archive is located at: Consiliul National Pentru Studiera Archivelor Securitate Strada Matei Basarab 55-57 030671 Bucuresti 3, ROMANIA

A permit is not required to access the records of the archive. A person can view his or her own file, and the files of deceased ancestors. Files for living ancestors can only viewed with the permission of the person. Certified researchers can access all archive files. Certification requires an application and is free. Applicants must have a college degree and submit a Letter of Intent detailing the scope of their research.

Transylvania
Transylvania was part of the Hungarian half of the Austro-Hungarian Empire up to 1918, after which they were ceded to Romania. The "Banat," an integral part of the Hungarian half of the Empire until 1918, was afterwards divided between Hungary, Serbia, and Romania. The Hungarian records have been microfilmed, but the records in the Romanian part can be viewed at the archives of Timisoara and the material in the Serbian part can be viewed in Belgrade.

Websites

 * Transylvania Archives Project - TAP seeks to preserve records pertaining to Transylvania. See the mission and history of the project to learn more.
 * Archives Portal Europe - provides access to information on archival material from Romania as well as information on archival institutions throughout the European continent