Austrian genealogy records divide into two eras with a sharp line between them, and each era has a different keeper. Before 1938 and 1939, churches kept the registers and still hold them. From those dates, the state kept them, through the registry offices. This map sets out the line, shows who holds what, lists the main online starting points and flags the access rules that catch people out. It draws on FamilySearch, the City of Vienna and a few private guides, as they stood in October 2026, and it says which sources are older.
The line in 1938 and 1939
- Marriages: civil registration began on 1 August 1938. FamilySearch adds that marriages between 1 August and 31 December 1938 were conducted at district offices, the Bezirkshauptmannschaften.
- Births and deaths: civil registration began throughout Austria on 1 January 1939, according to FamilySearch.
- Before those dates: church records are the source. FamilySearch advises searching them for marriages before 1 August 1938 and for births and deaths before 1 January 1939.
- The office: the registry office that keeps post-1938 records is the Standesamt, according to FamilySearch’s page on Upper Austria.
Who holds which book
| Period and community | Holder, according to the sources | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Catholic registers before 1938 | The parish or the diocesan archive. In Vienna, the City of Vienna points to the archdiocese’s office and to Matricula Online | Catholic registers are organized locally, so you need the parish, according to FamilySearch |
| Lutheran and Reformed registers before 1938 | In Vienna, the Evangelical church’s central office, according to the City of Vienna | Some Upper Austrian Evangelical registers are online through a provincial portal |
| People of unrecognized religion, or none | In Vienna, the municipal department for immigration and citizenship, MA 35 | From the City of Vienna’s guide |
| Jewish registers | FamilySearch lists Jewish vital records for Vienna from 1835 to 1938, and the City of Vienna points to them | We do not cover Jewish research in depth |
| Births and deaths from 1939, marriages from August 1938 | The registry offices, the Standesämter | Ordering is by application |
Online starting points
- Matricula Online offers digitized church registers, mostly of births, marriages and deaths, for Austria and several other countries. A private guide says the images are not indexed or searchable, though many books contain handwritten indexes.
- FamilySearch’s Upper Austria collection of Catholic church records for 1581 to 1919, with an index and images.
- DORIS, the Upper Austrian historical portal, with digitized Roman Catholic books and Evangelical registers up to 1939, according to FamilySearch.
- Subscription indexes. FamilySearch lists an index of Vienna’s Jewish vital records on MyHeritage, and a Catholic Upper Austria index on MyHeritage and images on Ancestry.
Access periods that catch people out
A private guide to Matricula says that, under Austrian data-protection rules, birth and baptism registers become available after 100 years, marriage registers after 75 years and death registers after 30 years, and that Austrian registers have been digitized up to 1938. That guide is several years old, so confirm the periods with the holder before you rely on them. The practical point is that a recent entry may exist but be closed to you.
Records that cross the religious line
FamilySearch says that until 1849 Catholic priests had to include other denominations in their registers, so an Evangelical or Jewish ancestor can appear in a Catholic book before that date. That is why religion is the first question for any ancestor, and why a search in the wrong community’s books is a common reason for a failed search.
Censuses and the lack of a central index
FamilySearch says Austria has no central register where you can find persons by name. It adds that the first census in the Austrian Empire was taken in 1754 under Maria Theresia, that the next in the empire without Hungary came in 1869, followed by 1880, 1890, 1900 and 1910. We found no source on whether household-level returns are open to genealogists.
Next steps
If you are starting from scratch, try the first-weekend guide. For the long version, use the complete Austrian genealogy guide, and browse Registers & Repositories. Sources: FamilySearch’s Austria research tips, its page on Austrian civil registration, its page on Upper Austria, the City of Vienna’s guide to tracing ancestors, a Geneanet collection page and a private guide to Matricula.
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