Personal information cards were used from 1938 to keep track of who lived where. It is a part of the population registration.

Personal index cards are a great source of information for recent research because they cover the period from 1938 onwards. Copies of personal index cards of deceased people can be ordered for a fee.

Overview

Personal index cards were introduced in 1938 to replace the old family-based registration. The municipalities kept personal index cards for every inhabitant. If a person moved to another municipality, his index card was forwarded there. It can be thought of as an 'administrative twin' that follows you around your entire life.

A personal index card includes the following information about a person:

• First name(s)
• Last name
• Date and place of birth
• Date and place of death
• Information about the parents (full names, dates and places of birth)
• Religion (not public)
• Addresses (public if person died at least 20 years ago)
• Information about spouses (full names, dates and places of birth and marriage, whether the marriage ended by death or divorce)
• Information about children (full names, dates and places of birth and death. Sometimes not all children are mentioned, if the children had already moved out before 1938 they are often not listed on their parents' cards).

In 1994, the personal index cards were replaced by the municipal basic administration, that registers the same information in digital form.

Ordering personal index cards

The personal index cards from 1938 onwards are not public to protect the privacy of living people. After a person dies, his or her card or record from the municipal basic administration is sent for processing to the Central Bureau of Statistics. When they are done with it, it is sent on to the Central Bureau of Genealogy (CBG). Usually, it takes around two years for the cards to become available at the CBG.

Photocopies can be ordered from the CBG for a fee. To order a photocopy, write a letter (by regular mail only) to 

Centraal Bureau voor Genealogie
Postbus 11755
2502 AT Den Haag

For each person you're requesting an index card for, list the following information:

• First and last names, as accurately and completely as possible
• The birth date and place
• Year and if possible the date of death
• Any other information like information about the spouse (names, birth and death places)

If you don't know all of this information that's no problem as long as there is enough the identify the person. If the information is unclear, a research fee might be charged. When ordering more than 1 card, list the people in alphabetical order.

Costs are around € 3.30 per index card with a minimum of € 4.90 per order. When ordering from abroad, additional bank transfer costs and postage fees will be incurred. If you have any questions, contact the CBG at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , or http://www.cbg.nl.

There is no way to order copies of personal index cards of people who are still alive, because that would violate their privacy.

Last week, my friend Mary Risseeuw from Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin and I gave a presentation at the International Congress for genealogical and heraldic Sciences in Maastricht. The title was "We're all fresh and healthy. Emigration from the Netherlands to the United States in the 19th century. The slides are now available online.

I've just added a Dutch genealogy store to the site. In this store, visitors can buy books, DVDs and prints about Dutch genealogy, history and culture. I've selected publications that I think would benefit somebody researching his Dutch roots. The store is powered by Amazon. This website receives a commission for all sales, enabling this website to remain free.

Many Dutch people took American names when they came to the US. Some common combinations are listed here. All of these combinations have been found in actual documents, even though the translations aren't always what you would expect.

The province of Limburg is situated in the south-east of the Netherlands. The province borders Germany to the east, Belgium to the south, Belgium and Noord-Brabant to the east and Noord-Brabant to the north.

The capital city of Limburg is Maastricht. Other larger towns are:

• Heerlen
• Sittard
• Venlo
• Geleen

One group of emigrants in the 18th century is known as the Pennsylvania Dutch. But did you know they weren't Dutch at all? Most Pennsylvania dutch are actually German or Swiss. But even though their ancestors were not from the Netherlands, many Pennsylvania Dutch used Dutch ports to travel to the United States so there is a Dutch connection.