Genealogy

The documents useful for genealogical searches and kept in the Archives of the city of Brussels concern only people who were born or married, or who lived or died in Brussels, Laeken, Haren or Neder-Over-Heembeek at some point in their life.

People carrying out research are requested to go to the Archives reading room, where they will find the tools they need for their search. The reading room employee and an archivist can also guide genealogists in their research. The main tools available to researchers are parish registers, civil status records and population census records.

For searches on people born or married and who lived or died in a different municipality, please contact the civil status and population services of the municipality in question.

The Archives Service does not carry out genealogical research for third parties. The Archives provide general information and indicate whether there is any data relating to a search.
The Service is not authorised to issue copies of civil status documents. The Civil Status Service offers this service.

Parish registers

Population census registers

Parish registers

The collection of parish registers from eight Brussels parishes has been digitised and can be consulted on the terminals in the Archives of the City of Brussels reading room, as well as on the website of the National Archives of Belgium. These registers cover the period 1482 to 1796.

To help you in your research, we invite you to consult the complementary research instruments available in the reading room. Those that exist in electronic version are accessible via the online catalog (FR).

Civil status

In 1794, the French occupying forces applied in Belgium the Law of September 22 1792 establishing the Civil Registration. Municipal Halls were required to list births, marriages and deaths in separate registers and in duplicate.

These records covered the territory of the City of Brussels, including Laeken, Neder-over-Heembeek and Haren. Ten-year tables make it possible to find people in each type of record even if their exact dates of birth, marriage and death are not known.

Communication of civil records

The law of December 21 2018 (M.B. 12/31/2018) and its R.D. of March 17 2021 have amended the rules about the publicity of the civil registers.

From May 1 2021, for genealogical, historical or scientific research :

can be freely consulted (public documents)
- Birth records and additional acts : over 100 years
- Marriage records : over 75 years
- Death records : over 50 years
can NOT freely consulted (not public documents)
- the acts of exactly 50, 75 or 100 years
- the acts below these ranges of time
- Requested copies and non-public act certificates can be asked by email from the Civil Registrar of the Brussels City ( etatcivil.dem@brucity.be). Consultation request authorization from the Tribunal de la Famille are no longer valid.

Research in the Brussels City Archives

Summary tables of civil status records that can be consulted at the Archives of the City of Brussels (PDF, 103.20 KB) (update of the 25/02/2022)

To help you in your research, we invite you to consult the complementary research instruments available in the reading room. Those that exist in electronic version are accessible via the online catalog (FR).

Population census registers

The population census registers kept at the City Archives cover the period from 1975 to the creation of the national register (1983) and provide information on the composition of households and residential moves. They reflect residents' social and professional changes by district and by street.

The registers from 1795 to 1947 are digitised. The digital versions of those from 1795 to 1890 can be freely consulted in the reading room.

To help you in your research, we invite you to consult the complementary research instruments available in the reading room. Those that exist in electronic version are accessible via the online catalog (FR).

Special authorisation (PDF, 86.42 KB) is required to consult population registers under 120 years old - after 1900.