Indexes to the inventories of birth, marriage and death certificates held in the Cape Town Archives can be found on this page. These records form part of Civil registration in South Africa that began in the Cape in 1895 but birth registration was not official until 1905. The records in the Archives are purely custodians for the Department of Home Affairs and any document from the  Archives will need to be certified for official purposes.

These inventories form the basis of the indexes to birth, marriage and death certificates which are filed in three sections at the Cape Town Archives such as Home Affairs Western Cape, Home Affairs Eastern Cape and Home Affairs Northern Cape.  Each province is broken down into several files and within each file are alphabetically listed towns that provide the references to the main birth, marriage and death indexes and registers for the Cape in the Archives. 

Once you know the area you are looking for the birth, marriage or death certificate you will then need to use the actual indexes for each area that cover specific years. Please note that NO BIRTH CERTIFICATES are held in the archives and they are only birth entries. Birth certificates can only be obtained in person at Home Affairs.

To find out more about birth registers for the Cape you can look here and for the index to the birth registers for Home Affairs Western Cape you can look here.   And Natal Civil registration here.

wdt_ID Area Home Affairs District File Number Volumes
1 Aliwal North Home Affairs Eastern Cape 7 59
2 Barkly East Home Affairs Eastern Cape 1 1
3 Burgersdorp Home Affairs Eastern Cape 7 68
4 Cathcart Home Affairs Eastern Cape 1 2
5 Dordrecht Home Affairs Eastern Cape 1 1
6 East London Home Affairs Eastern Cape 1 1
7 Elliot Home Affairs Eastern Cape 1 1
8 Graaff-Reinet Home Affairs Eastern Cape 2 2
9 Hankey Home Affairs Eastern Cape 2 3
10 Hofmeyr Home Affairs Eastern Cape 1 2
11 Humansdorp Home Affairs Eastern Cape 1 3
12 Indwe Home Affairs Eastern Cape 2 4
13 Jamestown Home Affairs Eastern Cape 7 60
14 Joubertina Home Affairs Eastern Cape 2 5
15 King William's Town Home Affairs Eastern Cape 2 6
16 Komga Home Affairs Eastern Cape 1
17 Lady Grey Home Affairs Eastern Cape 1 3
18 Maclear Home Affairs Eastern Cape 1 4
19 Molteno Home Affairs Eastern Cape 3 12
20 Port Elizabeth Home Affairs Eastern Cape 3 10
21 Qieenstown Home Affairs Eastern Cape 3 11
22 Seymour Home Affairs Eastern Cape 1 4
23 Sterkstroom Home Affairs Eastern Cape 1 5
24 Steynsburg Home Affairs Eastern Cape 3 13
25 Steytlerville Home Affairs Eastern Cape 3 14
26 Stutterheim Home Affairs Eastern Cape 1 5
27 Tarkastad Home Affairs Eastern Cape 1 6
28 Unidentified Towns Home Affairs Eastern Cape 3 15
29 Willowmore Home Affairs Eastern Cape 1 6
30 Barkly West Home Affairs Northern Cape 2 7
31 Barky West / Klipdam Home Affairs Northern Cape 2 7
32 Britstown Home Affairs Northern Cape 7 61
33 Carnarvon Home Affairs Northern Cape 3 16
34 Colesburg Home Affairs Northern Cape 2 8
35 De Aar Home Affairs Northern Cape 3 17
36 Douglas Home Affairs Northern Cape 3 18
37 Garies Home Affairs Northern Cape 2 8
38 Griekwastad Home Affairs Northern Cape 2 9
39 Groblershoop Home Affairs Northern Cape 2 9
40 Hanover Home Affairs Northern Cape 2 10
41 Hartswater Home Affairs Northern Cape 2 11
42 Hopetown Home Affairs Northern Cape 3 19
43 Kakamas Home Affairs Northern Cape 3 20
44 Keimoes Home Affairs Northern Cape 2 10
45 Kenhardt Home Affairs Northern Cape 3 21
46 Kimberley Home Affairs Northern Cape 2 12
47 Kuruman Home Affairs Northern Cape 2 11
48 Mafeking Home Affairs Northern Cape 2 12
49 Namaqualand Home Affairs Northern Cape 2 13
50 Noupoort Home Affairs Northern Cape 3 29
51 Olifantshoek Home Affairs Northern Cape 2 13
52 Philipstown Home Affairs Northern Cape 2 14
53 Port Nolloth Home Affairs Northern Cape 2 15
54 Postmasburg Home Affairs Northern Cape 3 16
55 Prieska Home Affairs Northern Cape 2 14
56 Richmond Home Affairs Northern Cape 7 62
57 Springbok Home Affairs Northern Cape 2 15
58 Unidentified Towns Home Affairs Northern Cape 3 22
59 Upington / Gordonia Home Affairs Northern Cape 3 17
60 Vryburg Home Affairs Northern Cape 3 23
61 Warrenton Home Affairs Northern Cape 7 63
62 Albertinia Home Affairs Western Cape 2 16
63 Athlone Home Affairs Western Cape 2 17
64 Bellville Home Affairs Western Cape 3 18
65 Bonnievale Home Affairs Western Cape 4 24
66 Bredadorp Home Affairs Western Cape 4 25
67 Caledon Home Affairs Western Cape 7 69
68 Calitzdorp Home Affairs Western Cape 3 18
69 Calvinia Home Affairs Western Cape 4 26
70 Camps Bay Home Affairs Western Cape 4 27
71 Cape Town & Wynberg Home Affairs Western Cape 7 64
72 Ceres Home Affairs Western Cape 4 28
73 Clanwilliam Home Affairs Western Cape 3 19
74 Claremont Home Affairs Western Cape 4 29
75 Diep Rivier Home Affairs Western Cape 3 20
76 Docks Home Affairs Western Cape 4 30
77 Durbanville Home Affairs Western Cape 3 21
78 George Home Affairs Western Cape 7 65
79 Goodwood Home Affairs Western Cape 4 31
80 Grabouw Home Affairs Western Cape 4 32
81 Green Point Home Affairs Western Cape 4 22
82 Heidelberg Home Affairs Western Cape 4 33
83 Hermanus Home Affairs Western Cape 4 34
84 Hopefield Home Affairs Western Cape 3 19
85 Knysna Home Affairs Western Cape 4 23
86 Kuilriver Home Affairs Western Cape 4 35
87 Laaiplek Home Affairs Western Cape 4 24
88 Ladismith Home Affairs Western Cape 4 25
89 Maitland Home Affairs Western Cape 3 20
90 Malmesbury Home Affairs Western Cape 4 26
91 Mitchells Plain Home Affairs Western Cape 7 66
92 Montagu Home Affairs Western Cape 4 36
93 Morreesburg Home Affairs Western Cape 5 37
94 Mossel Bay Home Affairs Western Cape 5 38
95 Mowbray Home Affairs Western Cape 5 39
96 Ndabeni Home Affairs Western Cape 5 40
97 Observatory Home Affairs Western Cape 5 41
98 Oudtshoorn Home Affairs Western Cape 3 21
99 Paarl Home Affairs Western Cape 5 42
100 Parow Home Affairs Western Cape 5 43
101 Pinelands Home Affairs Western Cape 4 27
102 Piquetberg Home Affairs Western Cape 5 45
103 Porterville Home Affairs Western Cape 5 44
104 Riversdale Home Affairs Western Cape 3 22
105 Robben Island Home Affairs Western Cape 3 23
106 Robertson Home Affairs Western Cape 3 24
107 Rondebosch Home Affairs Western Cape 3 25
108 Rosebank Home Affairs Western Cape 5 46
109 Rural Home Affairs Western Cape 5 47
110 Sea Point Home Affairs Western Cape 3 26
111 Simonstown Home Affairs Western Cape 5 48
112 Somerset West Home Affairs Western Cape 4 31
113 Stand Home Affairs Western Cape 3 28
114 Stellenbosch Home Affairs Western Cape 7 67
115 Sutherland Home Affairs Western Cape 4 28
116 Swellendam Home Affairs Western Cape 6 49
117 Tulbagh Home Affairs Western Cape 6 52
118 Uniondale Home Affairs Western Cape 6 52
119 Van Ryhnsdorp Home Affairs Western Cape 4 29
120 Vredenburg Home Affairs Western Cape 4 30
121 Vredendal Home Affairs Western Cape 6 53
122 Wellington Home Affairs Western Cape 6 54
123 Williston Home Affairs Western Cape 3 27
124 Wolseley Home Affairs Western Cape 6 56
125 Woodstock Home Affairs Western Cape 6 55
126 Worcester Home Affairs Western Cape 6 57

{{CODEunselectable}}