Czech and Slovak records are organized around parish registers, regional archives and, in Slovakia, the history of the Kingdom of Hungary. This hub maps the main record types, where each is kept and how languages and borders affect your search, then points you to the guides that go deeper.
Build your tree first
Before you contact an archive, record what you already know in a tree. MyHeritage, our primary recommended platform, lets you build a tree, attach records and receive match suggestions. Many Czech registers are free online through the regional archives, so most researchers combine a tree platform with the archive portals and FamilySearch.
The main record types
| Record | Period | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Czech parish registers (matriky) | Mandatory from 1605 in Bohemia and 1591 in Moravia | Baptisms, marriages and burials, kept by the parish. Many early registers were destroyed during the Thirty Years’ War. |
| Slovak parish registers | Often from the 1700s, varying by parish | Church records of births, marriages and deaths for each denomination. |
| Slovak civil registration | From 1 October 1895 | Civil registers in the Kingdom of Hungary, written in Hungarian until about 1920, then Slovak or Czech. |
| Recent registers | Kept locally | Held by local registry offices, with access limits. |
Where the records are kept
- Czech regional archives. Most pre-1900 parish books are in the seven regional archives and the Prague City Archives, and almost all are available in digital form online. After registers are digitized, they are often not accessible in person.
- Slovak state archives. The Slovak National Archives was created in 1928 and is in Bratislava, and the state archives formed in the early 1950s hold most pre-1900 parish books. The State Archives have eight regional archives, and FamilySearch has digitized and indexed many Slovak registers.
- Local registry offices. Recent civil registers are kept by the local registrar, usually in the village registry office.
- National Archives in Prague. It holds the Jewish community registers for the Czech lands, which are digitized, though not searchable.
Access periods in the Czech Republic
Under Czech privacy rules, births are closed for 100 years and marriages for 75 years, and most guides give 30 years for deaths. One guide gives 75 years for deaths, so check the current rule with the archive. Recent registers are kept in the registry offices, and access requires proof of kinship.
Languages and place names
- Czech lands. Latin was commonly used in church registers in earlier centuries, and German was prevalent during the Austro-Hungarian period.
- Slovakia. Hungarian was used along with Latin and German in records across the old Kingdom of Hungary before 1918, and civil records from 1895 to about 1920 were written in Hungarian.
- Place names. A village may appear under a Czech, Slovak, German or Hungarian name depending on the period, so search every form.
Where to go next
- Follow the full walkthrough in How to Trace Your Czech and Slovak Ancestry.
- New to genealogy? Start with the seven-step starter guide.
- Browse every research guide in Genealogy Research.
- Use DNA to find cousins with the DNA testing hub.
Sources include the Czech Genealogical Society International on archives, My Czech Roots on vital records, JewishGen on Slovak civil records and the FamilySearch wiki on Slovak records.
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