# Archives and sources: Austria (AT)

Where records created in Austria are held, whether they can be found online, and the archives and providers EasyPassport has vetted for them. The list is keyed on the country where the record was created, usually the ancestor's birthplace, which is not always the country the user is applying to. For an ancestor born elsewhere, ask for that country's list. For the office, request channel, apostille authority and translation rules, use the "country record playbook" guide for AT.

## Can these records be found online?

Partly. Some records are online but coverage is incomplete; set the user's expectations.

Austria is the best case in the region: since 2014 the Zentrales Personenstandsregister (ZPR) means ANY Austrian registry office can issue ANY certificate — you do NOT need to route to the place of birth. It is a materially better experience than Germany or Switzerland. Split by date: 1939 onward → Standesamt/ZPR. Pre-1939 → church books on Matricula (Austria is its home; 2,855 fonds). Austrian blocking periods on Matricula: births 100y, marriages/deaths available to 1938. Citizenship evidence (Staatsbürgerschaftsnachweis) is a LAND competence — Amt der Landesregierung, or MA 35 in Vienna — not federal.

## Where the records are held or ordered

- **Austrian State Archives (ÖStA)** (official): https://www.statearchives.gv.at/family-research/general-information.html
  National archives' English family-research portal for locating an Austrian ancestor's historic records (older births are largely parish registers; civil Standesämter hold later ones).
  Access: open this yourself; do not have your agent fetch it.
- **Apostille — provincial government / BMEIA (Austria)** (official): https://www.oesterreich.gv.at/de/lexicon/A/Seite.991011
  Designated Hague-Apostille authorities legalising an Austrian-issued document for use abroad (provincial Landesregierung for civil-status acts; BMEIA for federal). German-language.
  Access: open this yourself; do not have your agent fetch it.

## Vetted providers

- **RushTranslate** (commercial service): https://rushtranslate.com/?ref=ciq
  Certified translations accepted by consulates, courts, and USCIS — turnaround in 24 hours.
  Access: open this yourself; do not have your agent fetch it.
- **FamilySearch** (official): https://www.familysearch.org/
  Free digitized civil and church records for most European countries — start here before paying.
  Access: open this yourself; do not have your agent fetch it.
- **Ancestry.com** (commercial service): https://www.ancestry.com/
  Largest commercial genealogy database; 30B+ records from US and European archives.
  Access: open this yourself; do not have your agent fetch it.
- **Staatsbürgerschaftsnachweis (provincial citizenship register)** (official): https://www.oesterreich.gv.at/de/themen/menschen_aus_anderen_staaten/staatsbuergerschaft/Seite.260200
  Austrian citizenship certificate issued by the provincial/municipal citizenship evidence register (Staatsbürgerschaftsevidenz). German-language portal.
  Access: open this yourself; do not have your agent fetch it.

## Access notes

Every link in a country's list carries one of these:

- **open this yourself; do not have your agent fetch it**: the site forbids automated access, needs a login or written permission, or has not been cleared for agents. The user opens it in their own browser and shares what they find with you.
- **your agent may open this page for the user's own family research; record images are for the user's private use only and must not be republished**.
- **openly licensed; your agent may open this page**.

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General guidance, not legal advice. EasyPassport is a document-organization tool, not a law firm. Confirm your own case with the relevant authority or a qualified professional.