Find your ancestors
Are you looking for your Norwegian heritage and ancestors? Here you will find basic information to help you start your journey.
Start tracing your ancestry in Norway
Tracing your lineage is a fun and rewarding challenge that requires some basic knowledge of past centuries. The following information from the National Library of Norway, the National Archives of Norway and Slekt og Data, the largest genealogy association in Norway, will walk you through the available resources and how to get the most out of them.
Tracing your lineage is a fun and rewarding challenge that requires some basic knowledge of past centuries. The following information from the National Library of Norway, the National Archives of Norway and Slekt og Data, the largest genealogy association in Norway, will walk you through the available resources and how to get the most out of them.
Online resources
Many Norwegian sources relevant to family history research can be found online.
Many Norwegian sources relevant to family history research can be found online.
Using our reading rooms
You are welcome to visit one of our reading rooms to carry out archival research.
You are welcome to visit one of our reading rooms to carry out archival research.
Parish Registers
Norwegian ministers started the registration of births/christenings, engagements/marriages and deaths/burials in the 17th century.
Norwegian ministers started the registration of births/christenings, engagements/marriages and deaths/burials in the 17th century.
Public censuses
The censuses are lists of all inhabitants in Norway at a certain point in time. They provide information such as who was living at a given farm at that point, their position within the family, their age, profession, and marital status.
The censuses are lists of all inhabitants in Norway at a certain point in time. They provide information such as who was living at a given farm at that point, their position within the family, their age, profession, and marital status.
Passenger lists
Over the past couple of hundred years there has been a requirement for written registration of passengers for the transportation of persons over long distances. The passenger lists had different purposes, and they vary widely both in form and content.
Over the past couple of hundred years there has been a requirement for written registration of passengers for the transportation of persons over long distances. The passenger lists had different purposes, and they vary widely both in form and content.