# Archives and sources: Germany (DE)

Where records created in Germany 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 DE.

## Can these records be found online?

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

There is NO national archive for vital records and no national index — ~11,000 Standesämter hold the live registers and each of the 16 Bundesländer runs its own archive portal. THE ROUTING RULE IS A DATE CALCULATION, fixed by statute (PStG §5(5)): births stay at the Standesamt for 110 years, marriages 80, deaths 30; past that they transfer to the municipal/state archive. So: take the event year, add the period, and if the window has closed look in the archive, otherwise the Standesamt of the place of the event. Pre-1876 (before civil registration existed) the record is a CHURCH register and splits by CONFESSION: Catholic → Matricula (data.matricula-online.eu, free); Protestant → Archion (archion.de, PAID subscription — there is no free Protestant image path). Church blocking periods are LONGER than the civil ones (births 120y, marriages 100y, deaths 40y) — do not conflate them.

## Where the records are held or ordered

- **Matricula Online** (official): https://data.matricula-online.eu/
  Free digitized CATHOLIC parish register images (Germany, Austria, and beyond). For a Protestant ancestor use Archion instead — Matricula does not hold Protestant registers.
  Access: 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.
- **Archion — Protestant church books** (commercial service): https://www.archion.de/
  The Protestant (evangelisch) church registers — 200,000+ books from 25+ German church archives. PAID SUBSCRIPTION (timed passes); there is no free image access, so you view and download it yourself. Use this, not Matricula, for a Protestant ancestor.
  Access: open this yourself; do not have your agent fetch it.
- **Legacy Tree Genealogists** (commercial service): https://www.legacytree.com/
  US-based firm with on-site German researchers — handles Standesamt civil-record requests.
  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.

## 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**.

---

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.