The required civil status registers are located in the Registry Office District Central (“Standesamtsbezirk Mitte”) or the Registry Office District Höchst (“Standesamtsbezirk Höchst”), depending where the event took place.
How far back in time can the Registry Office (“Standesamt”) perform genealogical research?
Records of civil status registers at the Registry Office are kept for a limited period of time:
- Birth registers 110 years
- Marriage registers 80 years
- Death registers 30 years
- Civil partnership registers only exist for the period 1 August 2001 to 30 September 2017
The use of the civil status registers is subject to the data protection regulations of § 62 of the Personal Status Act ("PStG"). Please also see our article Ordering of certificatesInternal Link.
After expiration of the above-mentioned retention periods, records of civil status registers are handed over to the Institute of City History (“Institut für Stadtgeschichte”) for permanent storage.