Denmark, Copenhagen City, Civil Marriages - FamilySearch Historical Records

Denmark Copenhagen City

What is in the Collection?
The collection consists of marriage licenses and records for the city of Copenhagen for the years 1851 to 1961.

Civil marriages were first allowed in Denmark in 1851. In Copenhagen city the marriage was recorded by a magistrate. 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.

These records are an excellent source for validating the date and place of a marriage. If a marriage record for a couple cannot be found in the church registers, the civil marriage registers are an excellent source to check.

What Can This Collection Tell Me?
Civil Marriage Records usually contain:
 * 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
 * Names of witnesses
 * Names of parents

How Do I Search the Collection?
Before beginning a search in these records, it is best to know the full name of the individual in question, as well as an approximate time range for the desired record. When entered into the search engine on the Collection Page, this information provides the quickest, most reliable path to finding the correct person. Of course, other information can be substituted as necessary.

Search by Name by Visiting the Collection Page
Fill in the requested information in the initial search page to return a list of possible matches. Compare the individuals on the list with what is already known to find the correct family or person. This step may require examining multiple individuals before a match is located.

View Images in this Collection by Visiting the Browse Page
⇒Select Browse through images on the initial collection page ⇒Select the appropriate Archive ⇒Select the appropriate Series and Title ⇒Select the appropriate Volume and Year to go to the images.

Compare the information found on the images with what is already known determine if a particular record relates to the correct person. This process may require examining multiple records before the correct person is located.

Reading These Records
These records are in Danish. For assistance with this language, consult the Danish Word List page. On this page is a list of common terms found in Danish genealogical records as well as their English translations. There are also links to more a far more comprehensive word list broken down by letter. A PDF version of an older edition of the complete word list may be accessed with the following link:.

I Found the Person I Was Looking for, What Now?

 * Make sure to fully transcribe and cite the record entry for future reference; see below for assistance in citing this collection. Save or print a copy of the image if possible.
 * Use the information which has been discovered to find more. For instance, use the age listed in the record to estimate a year of birth, if that is yet undetermined.
 * Use the information which has been discovered and locate the individual in church records, if appropriate.
 * Continue to search the index to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives. Note that family members often appear on an individual's vital records, such as in the role of witnesses to a marriage.

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking for, What Now?

 * When looking for a person with a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which individual is correct. Use other information, such as place of birth, age, occupation, or names of parents, to determine which candidate is the correct person. If listed, a personal title may be a clue to property ownership or occupation, either of which might be noted in other records.
 * Check for variants of given names, surnames, and place names. Transcription errors could occur in any handwritten record; also, it was not uncommon for an individual be listed under a nickname or an abbreviation of their name.
 * Vary the search terms. For example, search by either the given name or surname to return broader list of possible candidates which can then be examined for matches.
 * Search the records of nearby parishes. While it was uncommon for an individual in this period to move more than about 20 miles from their place of birth, smaller relocations were not uncommon..
 * Look at the actual image of the record to verify the information found in the online description, if possible.

For additional help searching online collections see FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

Citing this Collection
Citing sources correctly makes it easier to refer back to information that has already been discovered; proper citations are therefore indispensable to keeping track of genealogical research. Following established formulae in formatting citations also allows others to verify completed research by helping them find and examine records for themselves.

To be of use, citations must include information such as the author, custodian, publisher, and archive for the original records, if available. The following examples demonstrate how to present this information for both this particular collection as well as individual records and images within the collection: Collection Citation:

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry): Image Citation