Standesämter in Deutschland
Civil status records are kept by registry offices in Germany. These were introduced throughout Germany in 1876; in some areas (on the left bank of the Rhine) even earlier.
After the amendment of the Civil Status Act in 2009, birth registers after 110 years, marriage registers after 80 years and death registers after 30 years are offered to the respective city or state archives as archive records. They can be viewed there without restriction. A search of the archives and the making of copies are subject to a fee.
Documents from the registry offices can only be obtained by the persons concerned, persons who are directly related to the persons concerned or persons with a power of attorney from the aforementioned persons. Here, too, the search for and issuing of copies is subject to a fee.