# Polish Genealogical Sources Source: https://www.polishgenealogist.co.uk/records/choosing-sources-for-your-family-search/ Last updated: 2026-10-12 Summary: Choose a Polish archival source from the clues you already have. Compare records for family events, addresses, work and travel to plan a focused search. Publisher: The Polish Genealogist (professional Polish genealogy research, polishgenealogist.co.uk) --- Use the clues in your family’s records to decide which Polish source to search next. A birthplace suggests a civil or parish register; an address may lead to residence records; a service paper points towards military collections. This guide connects those research questions with the main groups of Polish sources, so you can build an evidence trail instead of collecting unrelated matches. > **Want these records searched for your family?** We trace your ancestors in Polish civil, parish and archival records and bring the findings together in an English-language report. [View research packages](https://www.polishgenealogist.co.uk/services/family-history-research/) Each section below describes one group of records, what it usually contains and where it is kept, with a link to a fuller guide. ### Church records: baptisms, marriages and deaths For most families, parish registers are the main source for the period before civil registration, which began in the Duchy of Warsaw in 1808 but did not cover the whole country under secular offices until 1946. Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox and Jewish communities all kept registers, usually recording: - **baptisms (*chrzty*)**: the child, the parents (often with the mother’s maiden name), the godparents and the date of birth; - **marriages (*śluby*)**: the bride and groom, often their parents, ages, occupations and places of residence; - **deaths and burials (*zgony*)**: the date of death, the age at death and sometimes the cause. The books are held in parish offices, diocesan archives and state archives. Many have been indexed in [Geneteka](https://www.polishgenealogist.co.uk/vital-records/how-to-search-geneteka/) or filmed by FamilySearch, and the state archives publish scans on Szukaj w Archiwach (szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl). [Read more: **[Polish Church Records](https://www.polishgenealogist.co.uk/vital-records/polish-church-records/)**] ### National censuses The Second Republic held censuses in 1921 and 1931, and post-war Poland a summary census in February 1946. Their usefulness for family history is limited: - **1921 and 1931**: very few individual census sheets survive. The published results give totals by locality (population, religion, nationality, buildings) rather than names, which still helps to describe a family’s village. - **1946**: a summary count of the population by sex, age and nationality, taken during the post-war migrations. It is not a list of named people. For named people in a household, residence registers and the parish *Status Animarum* are usually more productive. [Read more: **[Polish National Censuses](https://www.polishgenealogist.co.uk/records/polish-census-records/)**] ### Pre-war passport and ID applications If an ancestor emigrated between the wars, a **passport application** or identity document file can give the full name and place of birth, a photograph, and details of residence and employment. These files are kept mainly in state archives (from the offices that issued passports) and in consular records. [Read more: **[Pre-War Polish Passport and ID Applications](https://www.polishgenealogist.co.uk/records/pre-war-polish-passport-and-id-applications/)**] ### Notarial records: property, wills and contracts Notarial deeds record legal and financial arrangements within families: land purchases and sales, divisions of property between heirs, wills deposited with a notary, and marriage contracts. They often name several relatives at once and give their places of residence. Older notarial records are held in the [Polish state archives](https://www.polishgenealogist.co.uk/vital-records/finding-family-records-in-state-archives/) and sometimes in municipal archives. [Read more: **[Notarial Records in Poland](https://www.polishgenealogist.co.uk/records/notarial-records-in-poland/)**] ### Population and residence registers Censuses are snapshots; **population and residence registers** were kept up to date continuously, so they show when people arrived, left and died. The main types are: - **books of permanent residents (*księgi ludności stałej*)**, listing households officially resident in a town or commune; - **books of temporary residents (*księgi ludności niestałej*)**, for people living there only for a time; - **registration cards (*karty meldunkowe*)**, recording changes of address and household members. They are kept in state archives and, for later periods, in municipal archives. [Read more: **[Polish Population and Residence Registers](https://www.polishgenealogist.co.uk/records/tracing-households-and-addresses/)**] ### Civil birth, marriage and death records Civil registration began at different times in different parts of the country: in the Duchy of Warsaw in 1808, in the Prussian partition in the 1870s, and nationwide with secular civil registry offices only from 1 January 1946. Until then, in much of the country the parish clergy kept the civil registers. The records include birth, marriage and [death records](https://www.polishgenealogist.co.uk/vital-records/death-records-from-poland/): - **birth records (*akty urodzenia*)**, with the parents’ names, occupations and place of residence; - **marriage records (*akty małżeństwa*)**, with witnesses and, where needed, parental consent; - **death records (*akty zgonu*)**, with the age of the deceased, the date and place of death and the informants. Under Polish law, birth records stay in the civil registry office (USC) for 100 years and marriage and death records for 80 years, after which they pass to the state archives. Many older registers can be viewed as scans on Szukaj w Archiwach (szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl). [Read more: **[Polish Vital Records](https://www.polishgenealogist.co.uk/vital-records/birth-marriage-death-registers-explained/)**] ### Military records If an ancestor served, look for: - **conscription lists**, naming men liable for service and often their places of birth; - **service records**, giving rank, regiment and postings; - **records of the Polish Underground**, for those who fought in the Second World War resistance. [Read more:**[Polish Military Records](https://www.polishgenealogist.co.uk/military/tracing-polish-military-service/)**] ### Related guides - [Finding Polish birth records](https://www.polishgenealogist.co.uk/vital-records/finding-a-birth-entry-in-poland/) - [A guide to Polish military records](https://www.polishgenealogist.co.uk/military/tracing-polish-military-service/) - [Polish Population and Residence Registers](https://www.polishgenealogist.co.uk/records/tracing-households-and-addresses/) - [Obtaining Polish records and certificates](https://www.polishgenealogist.co.uk/services/polish-document-retrieval/) - [Browse records of residence, travel, work and property](https://www.polishgenealogist.co.uk/records/) - [Polish ancestry records: sources for your family history](https://www.polishgenealogist.co.uk/blog/building-a-polish-ancestry-paper-trail/) > **Research service:** Choose a focused search in Polish archives · One family line and one defined research question · [Explore archival research packages](https://www.polishgenealogist.co.uk/services/family-history-research/) --- Research help: The Polish Genealogist researches Polish family history, military service and citizenship evidence in Polish, British and international archives, with reports in English. Services and prices: https://www.polishgenealogist.co.uk/services/