Finding your Hungarian ancestors

First, find the village, its county and today's country

Hungarian records are filed by place: before October 1895 by the parish or congregation that kept the church register, after that by the state registration office, and in the archives by county. Before you search, you need the village's name as it was written in Hungarian, the county (vármegye) it belonged to, and the country it is in today.

The Kingdom of Hungary was much larger than Hungary today. The dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary was formed in 1867. After the First World War the peace treaty signed at Trianon on 4 June 1920 reduced the kingdom to about a third of its former size: FamilySearch notes that Hungary lost 71% of its territory, which was given to Romania, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and Austria; in 1945 part of Czechoslovakia's share went to the Soviet republic of Ukraine. A village that your family papers call Hungarian may therefore be in Slovakia, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, Ukraine or Austria today, and its records are then in that country's archives. Hungary's own services cover only today's territory: the National Archives keeps microfilms of the parish registers created in the present territory of Hungary, and the Hungarian Embassy in Washington obtains certificates only for events in the present-day territory of Hungary. If the village is now in Slovakia, read our Slovakia guide.

Hungarian, Slovak, German or Romanian names. Records from before 1920 use the Hungarian name. FamilySearch notes that all localities in Slovakia have names both in Slovak and Hungarian, many also in German, and that place names are often misspelled in American sources. Names also changed inside the kingdom: between 1898 and 1912 the national committee for municipal names (Országos Községi Törzskönyvbizottság) gave every settlement a single official name, removed duplicate names, and replaced some old names. Search under every spelling you have.

The 1913 gazetteer. The Magyar Szent Korona Országainak Helységnévtára of 1913 is the last official source for the administration of historical Hungary. Volumes 1 and 2 cover the Kingdom of Hungary and volume 3 Croatia-Slavonia. For each place it gives the county as it was then, and, according to FamilySearch, the religious jurisdictions as of 1910 and the location of the civil registration office: exactly what you need to find the registers. The three volumes are free to browse in the FamilySearch catalog (images only, no search).

Hungaricana. Hungaricana is a common website of Hungarian archives, museums and libraries, run by the Library of the Hungarian Parliament, with material from more than 100 institutions. It includes historical maps such as the hand-drawn cadastral maps at 1:2,880 and the first and second military surveys, and its documents can be downloaded free, up to 25 pages at a time.

Names of people. In Hungarian the surname comes first: Nagy János is John Nagy. In many records the given names are written in Latin or German.

State civil registers since 1 October 1895

Act XXXIII of 1894 introduced state registration of births, marriages and deaths from 1 October 1895. From that day the state registers recorded people of every religion. FamilySearch summarises what the entries give:

Two copies. Each register was kept in two copies. The original stays with the registrar (anyakönyvvezető) in the town hall; the second copy (másodpéldány) was deposited in the county archive. The second copies stopped on 1 January 1981, so the archive collections end on 31 December 1980. In Budapest the City Archives (Budapest Főváros Levéltára) holds them for the whole present city.

When the archive copies open. Under § 93/A of the Registers Act (Act I of 2010), as amended in 2024, anyone may research a register in the archive once these periods have passed, counted from the year the register book was closed:

• Deaths: 30 years
• Marriages: 86 years
• Births: 110 years

Before that, a person may see their own entry; for someone who has died, research is allowed with the written consent of a descendant or, if there is none, of another relative or heir.

Online. The National Archives (MNL) has put second copies online in its State registers database (Állami anyakönyvek), for now from the Pest, Somogy and Csongrád-Csanád county archives; on 4 February 2026 it warned that the database was not fully working because of a technical fault. A second version, with handwriting recognition, lets you search the text of registers from settlements of Pest county, 1895 to 1980. FamilySearch's Hungary, Civil Registration, 1895-1980 has free images of births to 1920, marriages to 1950 and deaths to 1980; coverage varies by locality.

Before 1895: church registers and their county duplicates

Before October 1895 the churches kept the only registers of baptisms, marriages and burials. Look for the congregation of your ancestor's religion:

• Roman Catholic: parishes were first required to keep registers in 1563.
• Reformed (Calvinist), the main Protestant church of Hungarians from the late 1500s, and Lutheran, accepted by many Germans in Hungary at about the same time.
• Greek Catholic (Uniate) congregations.
• Jewish communities were officially required to keep registers only from 1851.

Registers were written in Hungarian, Latin or German.

Duplicates from 1827. Act XXIII of 1827 ordered every denomination to keep its registers in two copies and to place the second copy in the county archive. In practice the series start in 1827 or 1828, with gaps that vary from place to place; the Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county archive, for example, holds duplicate volumes from 1826 to 1895. Registers from before 1827 are in the parishes, the church archives, or on microfilm at the National Archives.

Microfilms and images. In the 1960s the registers were microfilmed by the Mormons. The National Archives' collection holds 4 million frames, covering parish registers created in the present territory of Hungary. The registers are not on the National Archives' website: their digital images are free to view in the reading rooms of its Óbuda building in Budapest, of the county archives' main sites, and of the Budapest City Archives. Church registers can be researched without restriction.

Online, FamilySearch has Hungary, Church Books, 1624-1950 (Catholic, Reformed, Lutheran and Jewish registers, indexed with images, including some localities that belonged to the old kingdom) and Hungary, Catholic Church Records, 1636-1895, an index of Roman Catholic baptisms. Both are free.

The 1828 census. The national census of 1828 (Conscriptio regnicolaris), at the National Archives, names only the heads of household; other adults, servants, serfs and the landless are only counted. It is arranged by county and then by locality, survives for most counties, and FamilySearch has images (see its Hungary Census page).

The National Archives and the county archives

The Hungarian National Archives (Magyar Nemzeti Levéltár, MNL) has its national archive in Budapest and county archives (vármegyei levéltár); its English site lists 19 of them. Budapest has its own City Archives.

• Before 1 October 1895 (church registers): microfilms at the National Archives' Óbuda building, duplicates at the county archive.
• From 1 October 1895 to 1980 (state registers): the second copy at the county archive covering the place today.
• Newer records, or registers still closed: the registrar (see below).

Do the research yourself, or have someone do it. The National Archives says its staff do not carry out genealogical research for users and recommends hiring a genealogist. The Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county archive says the same: researchers collect the data themselves or through a personal representative. The Budapest City Archives requires registration, but registering and studying the documents is free; you pay only for copies, and orders cannot be placed by phone or e-mail.

Newer records: the registrar (anyakönyvvezető)

For a birth less than 110 years ago, a marriage less than 86 years ago, or a death less than 30, ask the registrar (anyakönyvvezető) for a certificate (anyakönyvi kivonat): a birth, marriage or death certificate.

Where. Under § 73(5) of the Registers Act, a request for a certificate can be filed with any registrar in Hungary, not only the one where the event was recorded. The procedure is free of duty, and the Hungarian Embassy in Washington says that obtaining certificates from Hungary is free of charge.

Who may ask. The person concerned, or someone they authorise. The official request form also has a box for a relative (hozzátartozó), defined to include the spouse and any direct-line relative (egyeneságbeli rokon). For a person who has died, the Embassy asks for a copy of the death certificate.

From abroad. The law allows a request to be filed with a Hungarian consular officer. The Embassy in Washington takes requests in person at the mission whose consular district you live in, and by post only in exceptional cases. It obtains certificates only for events in today's Hungary; for older records based on church registers, give the religious denomination. The form is Kérelem anyakönyvi kivonat kiállítása iránt (request for a certificate).

Emigrants: how they were counted

Before 1918 Hungary was part of Austria-Hungary, and the arrival tables of the time did not always separate the two. The official tables shown on this site's map count:

Figures: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Yearbook of Immigration Statistics 2019, table 2 (country of origin before 1906, country of last residence from 1906; Austria and Hungary not reported separately for all years during 1860 to 1869, 1890 to 1899 and 1900 to 1909; Poland included in Austria, Germany, Hungary and Russia from 1899 to 1919); Australian Government, Department of Home Affairs, Historical Migration Statistics (November 2025); Historical Statistics of Switzerland online, table B.21; Quebec immigration ministry (MIFI), tables of permanent immigration; Argentina, Dirección General de Inmigración (reports of 1904 and 1925). Borders changed over time: a country name may not cover the same territory in every decade. Each country uses its own definitions: compare with care.

For departures, FamilySearch lists the Hamburg passenger lists, 1850-1934 and the Bremen departure lists, 1904-1914. Look first for the arrival record in the country where your ancestor landed: it often names the village, in its Hungarian form.

Writing to the registrar or a county archive

For a recent record, write to the registrar (anyakönyvvezető) of the municipality, or file the request through a Hungarian embassy or consulate, and ask for a birth, marriage or death certificate (anyakönyvi kivonat). Give the full name (surname first), the date and place, the parents' names and, for older records, the religion; say that you are a direct descendant, with proof of the relationship and a copy of the death certificate. For records from 1895 to 1980, read the online registers first, then write to the county archive (vármegyei levéltár) only to ask how to order a copy of an entry you have found: archives do not search for private family history, so give the settlement, the register, the year and the entry number, or hire a researcher. Write your letter in Hungarian with our free generator.

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