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Military Records

Romanian Military Decree-1918

Prior to the 19th century and the formation of Romania as a modern state, the various principalities in the region kept military records sporadically and in no specific format. Transylvania, for example, had a standing army but not with the large body of military records useful for genealogical research. It wasn’t until the nationalization efforts of the 19th century that the military records as we know them came into being.

In this century, much of what is now Romania required mandatory military service of its citizens. Due to this, 30-40% of the population can be found in these records, making them incredibly valuable for genealogical research.

These military records are generally held in regional archives and are not digitized. More recent records from the 20th century are also generally not fully available to the public.

  1. Image: from "The evolution of the military archival system." Romanian National Military Archives. (https://cam.hypotheses.org/121: accessed July 2026).
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