Walking the streets of the village your family came from can be the high point of years of research. A good trip also needs planning, because the records are held in several kinds of offices, desks in some archives are reserved weeks ahead, and a public holiday can close the one office you need. A further point surprises many visitors: most Czech parish registers are digitized and free online, so the parish books may not be the reason to travel. This guide explains how to prepare, which offices to approach and what to check before you go. We checked these details in October 2026, and archive hours, rules and entry requirements change, so confirm them before you travel.
Do the research before you go
Czech and Slovak records are kept by parish and archive, so you need the village and the parish before anything else. Work through how to find your ancestor’s village of origin and our complete tracing guide, and list what you could not find online. That list is your reason for the trip. Czech regional archives have digitized almost all parish registers, and after digitization the originals are often not accessible in person, according to the Czechoslovak Genealogical Society International, so check the portals first. See our comparison of websites and archive portals.
Decide what a visit will add
| What you want | Where to look | Plan ahead for |
|---|---|---|
| Parish registers | Mostly online for the Czech lands, and on FamilySearch for Slovakia | Search online first. Many Czech registers cannot be viewed in person after digitization. See our Czech registers guide |
| Censuses, emigration permissions, land and school records | The district archives in the Czech Republic, which hold records that mostly require an onsite visit or a professional researcher, according to CGSI | Writing ahead, and Czech for the finding aids. See our guide to censuses |
| Slovak registers not online | The Slovak state archive for the parish | A research form, ID and a day’s notice for books. See our archives guide |
| Recent civil records | The local registry office, which requires proof of kinship | Bringing documents that show how you are related |
| Graves | The village cemetery | Rented graves may have been cleared, and some old cemeteries are abandoned |
| Living relatives and the place itself | The village, the church and your DNA matches | Contacting people well in advance. See how to find Czech and Slovak cousins with DNA |
Know which offices matter
- The regional or state archive. The Czech Republic has seven regional archives, each with district archives, 72 in all, and five city archives. The Slovak state archives hold the church registers for Slovakia.
- The registry office and the municipal office. Recent registers are kept locally. Civil registration records less than 100 years old in Slovakia are maintained locally, usually in the village registrar’s office, according to a JewishGen guide.
- The parish office. A parish may hold records, parish histories and information about the church and cemetery.
- Your own embassy or consulate. If your aim is citizenship, the embassy handles the application. See our citizenship guide.
Write ahead and reserve
Do not arrive unannounced. Each Czech regional archive has about 20 to 30 desks for researchers, and some archives, such as Zámrsk, Prague and Třeboň, are almost always full and may turn you away without reservations made well in advance, while Brno has usually had a desk available, according to older guides. The Moravian Land Archive in Brno will no longer conduct research for individuals, but if you visit you can search the records there, and CGSI advises contacting the archive well in advance to find out what you need. See how to request records.
Check holidays and opening hours
Offices and archives close on public holidays. According to a 2027 holiday guide for Czechia and Czech embassy lists, the 2027 Czech public holidays include:
| Date in 2027 | Czech holiday |
|---|---|
| 1 January (Friday) | New Year’s Day |
| 26 March (Friday) | Good Friday |
| 29 March (Monday) | Easter Monday |
| 1 May (Saturday) and 8 May (Saturday) | Labour Day and Liberation Day |
| 5 July (Monday) and 6 July (Tuesday) | Saints Cyril and Methodius, and Jan Hus Day |
| 28 September (Tuesday) | Czech Statehood Day |
| 28 October (Thursday) | Independent Czechoslovak State Day |
| 17 November (Wednesday) | Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day |
| 24 to 26 December | Christmas |
For Slovakia, the foreign ministry’s list of public holidays includes 1 and 6 January, Good Friday, Easter Monday, 1 and 8 May, 5 July, 29 August, 1 and 15 September, 1 and 17 November and 24 to 26 December. Not all public holidays are non-working days: a Slovak university’s guide says that in 2026 the days of 8 May, 15 September, 1 September, 28 October and 17 November were public holidays but ordinary working days. A 2027 working-days guide lists 1 and 6 January, 26 and 29 March, 1 May, 5 July, 29 August, 1 November and the Christmas days as non-working. Archives set their own hours, so ask. Czech archive hours are often restricted in July and August, according to the Brno guide.
Cemeteries
- Graves are rented. In Slovakia, municipal grave contracts under the burial act typically run for at least 10 years, the decomposition period, with renewal, and an unpaid grave can be offered to another renter.
- Old Czech leases. The Czech burial act of 2001 does not address graves leased in the past “in perpetuity” or for the duration of the cemetery, and the ombudsman has said that older contracts remain valid. If you cannot find a grave, ask the cemetery administrator, the municipal or district archive, or the parish.
- Clearing and abandonment. Old graves for which no one pays rent may be cleared, and some former Sudeten German cemeteries are abandoned or devastated, according to a Czech news report. See our Sudeten guide.
- Remembrance days. Cemeteries are visited on or around 1 November in Slovakia, and the Czech equivalent is called Dušičky, so they can be busy then.
The church and the village
A parish church may be locked outside services, so ask at the parish office or the municipal office. Be polite and unhurried in the village, ask before photographing people, houses and churches, and bring a printed tree and old photographs to show. Record every name, date and place you hear, and check them against the registers afterward.
Language
Knowledge of Czech is essential for working with most of the finding aids at the Moravian archive, according to a guide to that archive, and the same is likely true elsewhere. Registers may be in Latin, German, Hungarian, Czech or Slovak. Bring a speaker if you can. See our phrases guide and our guide to reading the records.
Borders and where your village now is
Your ancestors’ village may now be in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine or another country, and it may have changed names. Rusyn families may find their records in eastern Slovakia, and Subcarpathian Ruthenia is in Ukraine. See our regions guide and our Carpatho-Rusyn guide.
Entry rules for 2026 and 2027
- Entry/Exit System. It registers non-EU visitors with a facial image and fingerprints and has been fully operational since 10 April 2026, so allow extra time at the border. Czechia and Slovakia are Schengen states.
- ETIAS. It was not operating when we checked in October 2026 and had no confirmed start date. Check the official EU ETIAS website before you book. See ABTA on the EES and ETIAS.
- Distances. Villages can be far from the nearest archive, so plan the route and the opening hours together.
If your trip is part of a citizenship application
The embassy pages say that Czech declarations and Slovak applications are submitted through an embassy or consulate, and Czech archival research for people who left before 1953 can take months. A trip is useful for gathering records, but ask your embassy what it expects before you spend time and money. See our document guide.
A planning timeline
- Three months out: finish the online research, name the village and parish, list the records you need.
- Two months out: write to the archive and reserve a desk, and ask the municipality about local records.
- One month out: check the holiday calendar and book transport and lodging near the offices.
- Two weeks out: reconfirm reservations, print your documents and check entry rules.
- On the trip: record every source, and photograph only what is allowed.
Common mistakes
- Traveling to read registers that are online. Check the portals first.
- Arriving without a reservation. Some archives turn visitors away.
- Planning around a holiday. Check both countries’ calendars.
- Expecting a family grave. Graves are rented and may be cleared.
- Searching one village name. Use the Czech, Slovak, German and Hungarian forms.
For a sample schedule, see our Czech and Slovak genealogy trip itinerary. For the packing list, see what to bring to archives and registry offices. Browse every guide in Heritage Travel. Sources include the Czechoslovak Genealogical Society International’s guide to using archives, a guide to Czech archives, a guide to the Moravian Provincial Archive in Brno, CGSI’s page on the Brno archive, a 2027 holiday guide for Czechia, the Slovak foreign ministry’s holiday list and a report on the Czech ombudsman and cemetery leases.
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