Population registers are registers that recorded and tracked the movements of all Netherlands residents. Please see the archive list below for coverage. In most municipalities population registers began in January 1850. However, in some localities these records date back much earlier. The majority of the records in this collection date between 1810 and 1936, though the extent of year coverage can vary by locality, and some records are available beyond this range.
It is important to obtain a copy of the original record whenever possible, as the original record may provide additional context and details about an individual or family. For example, population registers typically recorded people in households and could indicate family relationships. They also provided detailed information regarding residence (where the family or person moved to or from, and the date of their change in residence). Changes in the composition of a household due to events such as birth, marriage, and death, were also noted in the registers.
Records included in this collection come from the following archives:
Drenthe
Drenthe Archive (Drents Archief)
Friesland
Tresoar (AlleFriezen) Historic Centre Leeuwarden (Historisch Centrum Leeuwarden)
Gelderland
Heritage Achterhoek and Liemers (Erfgoedcentrum Achterhoek en Liemers) Regional Archives Nijmegen (Regionaal Archief Nijmegen) Regional Archives Rivierenland (Regionaal Archief Rivierenland) Regional Archive of Zutphen (Regionaal archief Zutphen)
Limburg
Municipal Archives of Venlo (Gemeentearchief Venlo) Regional Historic Centre Limburg (Regionaal Historisch Centrum Limburg) Municipal Archive Venray (Gemeente Venray, gemeentearchief)
North Brabant
Brabant Historical Information Centre (Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum) City Archive Breda (Stadsarchief Breda) Regional Historic Centre Eindhoven (Regionaal Historisch Centrum Eindhoven) Regional Archive Langstraat Heusden Altena (Streekarchief Langstraat Heusden Altena) West-Brabant Archive (West Brabants Archief) Regional Archive Tilburg (Regionaal archief Tilburg)
North Holland
Regional Archive Alkmaar (Regionaal Archief Alkmaar) Waterlands Archive (Waterlands Archief)
Overijssel
Municipal Archive Steenwijkerland (Gemeente Steenwijkerland)
South Holland
Archive Delft (Archief Delft) Regional Archives Dordrecht (Regionaal Archief Dordrecht) City Archives Rotterdam (Stadsarchief Rotterdam)
Utrecht
Eemland Archive (Archief Eemland) Regional History Center Vecht and Venen (Regionaal Historisch Centrum Vecht en Venen)
Zeeland
Municipal Archive Borsele (Gemeentearchief Borsele) Municipal Archive Goes (Gemeentearchief Goes) Municipal Archive Tholen (Gemeentearchief Tholen)