Our Sweden genealogists research on location. They will find and analyze the best records available to further your family history research. They can search the archives and libraries in Sweden, including:
- Riksarkivet National and Regional Archives
Records relating to Sweden history, culture, and people. Includes government accounts, land records, tax lists, maps, and pictures - Provincial Archives
There are seven regional archives in Sweden. Each one houses records pertaining to their particular area. Most Swedish records of genealogical value are kept at the provincial archives, including church records such as birth, marriage, and death records; census records; land records; emigration records; and court records. Each provincial archive has a large collection of printed material about its area, including local histories, biographies, and other genealogical material - City Archives
The city archives of Stockholm and Malmö are comparable to the provincial archives. They house city records from the 13th century to the present - Military Archive Krigsarkivet (KRA)
Contain records from 1500s to the present of military personnel, drawings, and descriptions of military buildings and equipment, maps, private files of key people in Swedish military history, and photographs - Church Parish Offices
Records for the various churches from late 1800s to the present
- Historical and Genealogical Societies
Sweden has several historical and genealogical societies, some of which maintain libraries and archives - Kungliga Biblioteket (Royal Library)
Contains published genealogies, manuscripts, biographies, histories, directories, maps, and newspapers
Our genealogists can do research projects of many sizes and for many budgets. We customize the amount of research provided according to your needs.
If you would like to learn how our genealogists can further your research, request a research quote.
Some of the major records sources that can be used for genealogy research in Sweden include:
- Areas of modern Sweden that historically belonged to Denmark such as Skåne and Jämtland often have church records dating back to 1646
- The church law of 1686 stated that the parish priest was to maintain Ministerial books. These books contain birth and christening records (födelse och dop anteckningar), engagement and marriage records (lysnings och vigsel anteckningar), and death and burial records (död och begravning anteckningar)
- Beginning in 1860, the government required church ministers annually to copy the birth, marriage, and death information in their parish registers onto special forms and send them to the Statistiska Centralbyrån (SCB or Central Bureau of Statistics).
- Birth, marriage, and death records have been recorded by the government from 1950 to the present. Note that Sweden has no nationwide index to birth, marriage, or death records. These records are kept locally.
- Household examination records (husförhörslängd) record the population of household.
- Annual Mantals tax (mantalslängd) and the real estate tax on the farms (jordeböcker)
- Land records were kept by the towns and counties from the time they were settled
- Beginning In 1734, the government mandated inventories of the estates of the deceased. This legal proceeding is called in Swedish “bouppteckning”. Some inventories were taken prior to 1734, especially in cities.
- Newspapers were written in many areas and time periods that contain information such as notices of marriages, notices of death, and obituaries
- Military records identify individuals who served in the military or who were eligible for service. These records date from as early as the 1620s.
- Town and county histories provide information about early settlers and their families
- Most emigration records date from mid 1800s to the present and include ship passenger lists
