Denmark, Civil Marriages, 1851-1961

What is in This Collection?

Civil marriages were first allowed in Denmark in 1851. The marriage was recorded with the district sheriff in rural areas and with the magistrate in cities. The marriage was recorded in special notarial registers. These registers vary in content and arrangement by area. Some include a considerable number of supporting documents, such as baptismal certificates, divorce decrees, and statements from people familiar with the couple. Others record only the names and residences of the the bridal couple. In 1923 the registration process was changed by legislation enacted in 1922. This made the mayor the registering officer in the cities and the parish sheriff the registrar in rural areas. Beginning in 1923, entries were recorded in books containing pre-printed forms. The forms used varied across the country, but the information recorded in them was fairly consistent. The counties of Tønder, Haderslev, Åbenrå, and Sønderborg belonged to Germany prior to 1920 and had a different system of registration.

Please note this collection may have indexes for records that are not included. For example, this collection contains an index to civil marriages in Copenhagen City, 1851-1896, but only has records for 1851-1875. Only records after 1921 are searchable in this collection. No records from Copenhagen county or city are included in the indexed records. Marriages before 1922 must be located by browsing the images.

Additional records and/or images may be added to this collection in the future.

Reading These Records

The following articles will help you research your family in Denmark.

To Browse This Collection

You can browse through images in this collection using the waypoints on the Collection Browse Page for Denmark, Civil Marriages, 1851-1961.

What Can These Records Tell Me?

The following information may be found in these records:

• Names of the bride and groom
• Marriage date
• Ages, and sometimes the birth dates of the bride and groom
• Residence of bride and groom
• Occupation of the bride and groom

Collection Content

Sample Images

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  Civil marriages 1853.

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  Civil marriage 1924, Kolding, Vejle.

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  Civil marriages 1937, Grenå, Randers.

Coverage Table

As of 18 June 2014 this collection contained the following records. To see detailed information showing the number of indexed records for communities in these counties Denmark Civil Marriages Coverage Table - FamilySearch Historical Records.

County	Records
Hjørring	2,573
Odense	51,558
Randers	6,154
Ribe	2,386
Ringkøbing	1,561
Skanderborg	2,142
Svendborg	18,385
Thisted	625
Vejle	7,263
Viborg	1,524
Ålborg	7,084