Our France 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 France, including:
- Archives de France
State notaries (1400s-present), Legion of Honor (1800-1976), naturalization records for whole of France (1789-present), name and title changes (1814-1853) - Departmental Archives
Each department has its own archive [Archives départementales] that is separate from those of the national government. Most French records of genealogical value are kept at these archives. Collections include: - Civil registration birth, marriage, and death records
- Church records (before 1792)
- Census records
- Some notarial records
- Military conscription records
- Town Registrars at the civil registration office [bureau de l’état civil] in the town hall [mairie]. Contain original local records of births, marriages, and deaths created by a town registrar (1792 to present)
Our professional researchers can do research projects of many sizes and for many budgets. We customize the amount of research provided according to your needs.If you want to know more about how our genealogists can further your research, you can request a research quote.
Some of the major records sources that can be used for genealogy research in France include:
- Birth, marriage, and death records were kept by some towns as early as 1539
- Birth, marriage, and death records have been recorded by the state government from 1792 to the present
- National census records were recorded beginning in 1772 (contained only statistics). From 1836 until 1936, a national census was taken every five years except for 1871 (which was taken in 1872) and 1916 (which was skipped)
- Land records were kept by the towns and counties from the time they were settled
- Notarial (probate) records were kept by the local courts from 1300s to the present
- Churches kept records of the christenings, marriages, deaths, or other information about their members since 1500s
- Newspapers were written in many areas and time periods that contain information such as notices of marriages, notices of death, and obituaries
- Town and county histories about the settlers and their families
- Naturalization and citizenship records from the 1100s to 1789 was frequently limited to individual cities (burgess records) and associated with craft guilds
- Burgess and guild records are available for selected cities
- French military records begin as early as the 1500s
- After 1789, naturalization applications concerning the whole of France are found in the judiciary series [série judiciaire] at the National Archives
- Ship passenger lists, tax lists, and town records were recorded for many areas
