Latvia Civil Registration

Online Collections

 * 1854-1921 - Latvia, Riga Jewish Marriages, 1854-1921 - Ancestry.com ($)
 * 1850-1940 - Great Britain. Consulate (Riga, Latvia), Consulate register, 1850-1940 - FamilySearch (free)

Offices to Contact
The birth, marriage and death records through 1909 are at: Latvijas Nacionālā arhīva (The Latvian State Historical Archives) Slokas iela 16 Zemgales priekšpilsēta Rīga, LV-1048, Latvia
 * Reading room at Palasta Street 4, Riga

Telephone: +371 20 017 505 Email: [mailto:vestures.arhivs@arhivi.gov.lv vestures.arhivs@arhivi.gov.lv] The records for 1910–1921 are at:  Registry Office Archives of the Ministry of Justice of Latvia A. Čaka Street 38a Riga, LV-1011, Latvia

Telephone: 67830682, 67830684 Fax: 67830673 Email: [mailto:dzimts.dep@tm.gov.lv dzimts.dep@tm.gov.lv]

Historical Background
The Soviets implemented civil registration in 1940. Metrical book transcripts served this purpose previously. Registration offices are co-located with "marriage palaces" permitting the registration and performance of weddings to occur at the same place and time.

Coverage and Compliance
Time period: 1940-present. Population coverage: 85% coverage.

Information Recorded in the Records
Birth and baptism registers
 * Name and surname of the child
 * Date, time and place of birth
 * Names and surnames of child’s parents
 * Confession
 * Social status or occupation (in some cases place of origin)
 * Whether the child was born in wedlock
 * Names of godparents
 * Name and surname of person who performed the baptism, place of baptism

Engagement, banns and marriage registers
 * Names and surnames of groom and bride
 * Ages
 * Social status and occupation
 * Birth place and confession
 * Previous family status
 * Date of engagement and marriage
 * Names and surnames of groom’s and bride’s parents
 * Whether alive or deceased
 * Social status and occupation
 * Information about the clergyman

Death registers
 * Name and surname of the deceased person
 * Place of birth
 * Age
 * Family status
 * Date and place of death
 * Cause of death
 * Date of funeral (in some cases also the place)
 * Sometimes the death records of the Roman Catholic congregation also give information about the survivors of the deceased