How can I do research at the Archives of Serbia?

Citizens of Serbia and foreigners are entitled to use archival and library material of the Archives
of Serbia. (Foreigners must follow special terms governing the access and use of the material.)
Archival and library material is exclusively available in the reading rooms. Users get all necessary
information on archival fonds and collections, likewise the access and use conditions at
the Information Center.

Geneaology research

How can I research my family origin at the Archives of Serbia?

Microfilmed population censuses of the Principality and the Kingdom of Serbia from 1863 and
1884 and tax defters (notebooks) of the Kingdom of Serbia dated 1816 to 1848 are available for
family origin research. Population censuses from 1863 and 1884 belong to the fond of the
Ministry of Finance – Administration Department. Taxes and financial books of various types
were created by the Serbian authorities for collecting taxes purposes. They belong to the fond
entitled Main Accounting Chamber– Tefters collection – ZT (1828–1848), and to the following
archival collections: Mita Petrović Collection – ZMP (124 books) and Presents and Purchases
Collection – PO (93 books).
The oldest tefter book dates back to 1816, while the majority of them date from the period
between 1830 and 1839.

Are registers of births, marriages and deaths stored in the Archives of Serbia?

They are not kept in the Archives of Serbia. Municipal archives are responsible for preserving
and storing births, marriages and deaths registers.

Has the documentation related to personnel employed in the State Service in 19th century
been stored in the Archives of Serbia?

Calendar and schematism, with the list of the state services employees had been edited and
printedon annual basis. The Archives of Serbia preserves schematisms for the period between
1852 and 1924, where registers of ministers, court members, regional heads and subperfects,
teachers, priests, doctors etc. could be reviewed.

Certificates and diplomas

For documentation of which educational institutions the Archives of Serbia is responsible
for?

Documentation of College and University educational institutions comes under the competence
of the Archives of Serbia and is stored at the Archives Department in Železnik (5 Bulevar mladih
St.).
Municipal archives have the competency for the documentation of primary and secondary
schools.

Employment documentation 

For which institutions and their employment documentation is the Archives of Serbia
responsible?

Archives of Serbia is responsible for the institutions founded by the Republic of Serbia. Archival
material of other institutions are stored in the corresponding municipal archives or at the
Archives of Yugoslavia (if the institution was founded by the former federal government).

How can I access the documentation related to my employment status at the Archives of
Serbia?

Documentation by the Republic bodies and organs related to employment status of employees is
stored at the Archives Department in Železnik (5 Bulevar mladih St.). The individual can
personally conduct the retrieval of his personal files at this department or can submit a request
for delivery of related documentation. Providing evidences on someone’s length of service is free
of charge.

Documentation necessary for iniciating the rehabilitation process

Can I retrieve personal file of my ancestor whose rehabilitation I initiate in the
documentation handed over by the Security Information Agency?

Retrieval of the Security Information Agency files needs to be done in order to determine if a file
of a person or persons one is interested for, can be found. A request for retrieval can be
downloaded on the following link: Request for retrieval BIA files.
Provisions of the Law on Rehabilitation (“Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia”, No.
92/2011) bound the Archives of Serbia to process the requests submitted by the individuals and
higher courts of the Republic of Serbia. Upon the requests of the relevant courts, the Archives of
Serbia retrieves and delivers copies of relevant documents from the personal files which, due to
lack of legislation related to management of the security services personal files, are still not
available for public use.  Citizens can obtain only information as regards the existence of
personal files at the Archives of Serbia.

Documentation necessary for iniciating the process of property restitution

Upon my request for restitution of my seized property, I was instructedo contact the
Archives of Serbia and obtain a decision on nationalization/seizure of property. Do you
possess such documentation?
The Archives of Serbia preserves archival fonds, mostly of organs and bodies of the republican
level, which comprise the documentation relative to the seized and confiscated property.
However, it is necessary to retrieve them in order to determine if we have particular documents.
You can do research on your own (free of charge). Municipal archives also have data and
documentation on the seized property reffered to the particular territory, so you can contact your
local archives to obtain that information.
If you decide to do research on your own, the documentation is available in the Reading room
in Železnik, 5 Bulevar mladih St., on working days from 8.00 to 14.00 hours. 
If you want the Archives of Serbia to retrieve its documentation for a particular document, you
need to forward a detailed request in writing with as much data as possible, stating where the
property was located, who owned it, terms of seizure (nationalization, expropriation, etc.) and the
year.
Upon the submission of the Request form you have to pay 1.500,00 RSD to the Archives of
Serbia. If the retrieval of documentation provide a negative reply (i.e. no data could be
found related to your request) this is the only cost that you will have. If the reply is affirmative
you will have to pay the cost for issuing a certificate (6.000,00 RSD for foreigners, plus the cost of certified photocopies). The legal waiting period for processing the request is 30 days.

Why a person have to pay a fee to obtain the information on seized property?

According to the Article 94 provision 2 of the Law on Cultural Heritage (Official Gazette of the
Republic of Serbia, No. 71/94) the Archives of Serbia issues certificates on the facts contained in
the archival material. The fees for issuing certificates (3.000,00 RSD, negative certification –
1.500,00, and a certified A4 photocopy of document per page – 80,00 RSD and A3 photocopy
per page – 120,00 RSD) have been specified in the Pricelist of Services Provided by the
Archives of Serbia (Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, Number 33/2013) and approved
by the Ministry of Finance and Economy of the Republic of Serbia.
The above specified fees for the services provided need to be paid for since the retrieval of
documentation required by the Request Form is time consuming and requires a thorough
examination of extensive archival material by the Archives of Serbia staff.  This fee is not an
administrative tax, but a fee for the work done and services provided.
However, if a person, legal body or a body of authority is interested in doing research on their
own, with the help of the staff, it is free of charge.