# Archives and sources: Latvia (LV)

Where records created in Latvia 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 LV.

## Can these records be found online?

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

Church registers run ONLY to 1919 and sit in Raduraksti (raduraksti.arhivi.lv), which REQUIRES A FREE ACCOUNT to view any image — so you must register and look through the images yourself; it cannot be searched automatically. Everything from 1920 onward is NOT at the archives at all: it is at the Ministry of Justice Civil Registry Department (tm.gov.lv).

## Where the records are held or ordered

- **Raduraksti — Latvian State Historical Archives** (official): https://raduraksti.arhivi.lv/
  Digitized church birth/baptism registers, soul revisions and the 1897 census. FREE ACCOUNT REQUIRED to view any image — you must register and search yourself; we cannot fetch it for you. Church registers run only to 1919; anything from 1920 on is at the Ministry of Justice civil registry, not the archives. Latvian-language portal.
  Access: open this yourself; do not have your agent fetch it.
- **Apostille — Latvian sworn notaries** (official): https://www.latvijasnotars.lv/articles/the-sworn-notaries-in-latvia-are-now-legalizing-documents-with-an-apostille-for-use-in-a-foreign-country
  Latvia's Council of Sworn Notaries issues the apostille on a Latvian-issued document. English page.
  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.
- **Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (PMLP)** (official): https://www.pmlp.gov.lv/en
  Latvian authority for proof/determination of an ancestor's citizenship (pre-1940 descent). English site.
  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.