• Municipalities
  • General rule
  • Specific rules:
    • Civil registry
    • Civil status registers and foreigners registers
• Public Centres for Social Welfare (CPAS/OCMW/ÖSHZ)
• Inter-municipal cooperation bodies
• Irrigation and drainage cooperatives
• Recognised cults

Municipalities

General rule

Wallonia and Brussels

• Not older than 30 years or older than 30 years old but not freely accessible due to legal restrictions, for example with regard to the protection of privacy and personal data: Authorisation from municipal council (Wallonia) or council of mayors and aldermen (Brussels) required
• Older than 30 years but without legal restrictions: freely accessible

Flanders:

• Exceptions are not everlasting
• Access requests for scientific research

Specific rules:

Civil status

• Not older than 100 years:
  • Only public authorities, the person concerned, his or her marriage partner, legal representative, ancestors and descendants, heirs, notary public and lawyer can request an excerpt without explicit authorisation.
  • All other persons need an explicit authorisation issued by the family court of the judicial district in which the municipality is located.
• Older than 100 years: freely accessible

Remark: The legal framework for civil status was modified by the law of 21 December 2018, but in the absence of an implementing Royal Decree, the State Archives cannot apply it. Therefore, the old article 45 of the Code civil remains applicable until this decree is enacted. More information

Population register and foreigners register

• Closed since less than 120 years: deliverance of excerpts or certificates or lists of persons is subject to written authorisation by the municipal council (Wallonia) / council of mayors and aldermen (Brussels and Flanders)
• Closed since more than 120 years: accessible for genealogical, historical or other scientific research purposes

Public Centres for Social Welfare (CPAS/OCMW/ÖSHZ)

Wallonia, Brussels and German-speaking Community:

• Not older than 30 years or older than 30 years but not freely accessible due to legal restrictions, for example with regard to the protection of privacy and personal data: Authorisation from director (Wallonia) or secretary (Brussels) of concerned Public Centre for Social Welfare required
• Older than 30 years but without legal restrictions: freely accessible

Flanders:

• Exceptions are not everlasting
• Access requests for scientific research

Inter-municipal cooperation bodies

Brussels and Wallonia:

• Not older than 30 years or older than 30 years old but not freely accessible due to legal restrictions, for example with regard to the protection of privacy and personal data: authorisation from board of administration of the inter-municipal cooperation body required
• Older than 30 years but without legal restrictions: freely accessible

Flanders:

• Exceptions are not everlasting
• Access requests for scientific research

Irrigation and drainage cooperatives

Wallonia:

• Not older than 30 years or older than 30 years old but not freely accessible due to legal restrictions, for example with regard to the protection of privacy and personal data: authorisation from superintendent of the irrigation cooperative or president of the drainage cooperative required
• Older than 30 years but without legal restrictions: freely accessible

Flanders:

• Exceptions are not everlasting
• Access requests for scientific research

Organisations charged with the management of temporal goods of recognised cults

Brussels, Wallonia and German-speaking Community

• Not older than 30 years or older than 30 years old but not freely accessible due to legal restrictions, for example with regard to the protection of privacy and personal data: authorisation from president of organisation in charge of the management of temporal goods required
• Older than 30 years but without legal restrictions: freely accessible

Flanders:

• Exceptions are not everlasting
• Access requests for scientific research