Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Access to records containing personal data is restricted in accordance with the Law on Documents and Archives of the Republic of Lithuania:

• Birth records are generally accessible 100 years after a person's birth. If 100 years have not yet passed since the person's birth, access to the record is generally restricted.
• Death records are generally accessible 30 years after a person's death. If 30 years have not yet passed since the date of death, the record is generally not publicly accessible.
• Marriage records are generally accessible 70 years after the record was created when neither the person's date of birth nor date of death is known. If 70 years have not yet passed since the marriage record was created, access to the record is generally restricted.

These time limits are established in Article 20(5) of the Law on Documents and Archives of the Republic of Lithuania. The Lithuanian version of the law is available here:

Law on Documents and Archives of the Republic of Lithuania

Access to documents of the National Documentary Fund containing information about a person’s private life, as well as to structured personal data collections, is regulated by the Law on Documents and Archives of the Republic of Lithuania. Article 20(5) of this Law establishes the time limits for restricting public access to such documents.

Under this Law, access to birth registers is restricted for 100 years, while marriage and death registers are subject to restrictions of 70 and 30 years respectively. However, access to documents or copies of documents received from non-state organizations, private individuals, or legal entities may be restricted in accordance with the conditions of use specified in the transfer agreement.

A 100-year access restriction period applies to digital copies of birth, marriage, and death register books, parishioner lists, and other documents preserved in the churches of Lithuanian dioceses (LVIA fonds Nos. 3001–3007). This restriction has been applied in accordance with the Agreement of 30 May 2016 between the Office of the Chief Archivist of Lithuania and the Lithuanian Bishops’ Conference on the digitization of parish register books held in the Roman Catholic parishes of Lithuania.