The Reading Rooms of the Danish State Archives are open to the general public. Admission is free. Access to the various archival materials and use of them are also free for everybody.
At the Archives you will be your own researcher and hopefully you will find the information you are looking for. The staff will assist you with advice and guidance, and will be available to help you interpret specific difficult words or passages in the documents.
By far the largest section of material to be found in the Archives is handwritten, and prior to 1875 "Gothic handwriting" was predominant. Most of the records are in Danish, but some are written in German.
To use the Archives it is important to be able to read and understand the Danish language. The degree of linguistic requirements depends on what you are looking for and which records are necessary for your search. Are you perhaps looking for your ancestors in the Parish Registers and census lists? If so, you need some knowledge about Danish names and the Danish words most widely used in genealogy, etc.
A thorough examination of any event or topic requires additional language skills, since this would involve reading general, freely flowing text.
If you are planning to visit one or more of the Archives operating under the umbrella of the Danish State Archives, we advise you to plan carefully in advance. If you are interested primarily in Genealogy, you may find that the Genealogy section of this website contains some valuable advice. Also, be sure to set aside sufficient time for your visit - most archival searches take several hours.
The Danish Archives Act specifies how old records must be before they are made available to the public without the necessity of filing a special application. If the records you seek are not yet accessible, you can file a special application requesting permission to view them at the Archives where they are kept. Granting permission will usually involve a number of conditions: for example, you may be restricted from contacting any of the individuals mentioned in the material, or publishing this material.
10 years: Notes relating to funerals recorded in the Parish Registers.
20 years: Documents which are not governed by other rules.
50 years: Notes relating to birth, confirmation and marriage which are recorded in the Parish Registers.
75 years: Confidential information about individuals, adoption, divorce, suicide, crime, etc. which will be registered in the Probate Records.
Extended dates: This would involve documents relating to sensitive issues such as national policy and security.
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