Civil records were collected in Pomerania starting in October 1874. These records contain information on births, marriages and deaths as compared to the baptisms, marriages and burials found in church records. The Civil registry office is called Standesamt. Before this time, the Lutheran church records (1815-1874) or special Dissidenten-Register (1847-1874) served as official registers, and a duplicate copy was deposited at the local court (Amtsgericht).

The number of civil records that have survived the wars is not great, but there are more than the church records that have survived. Records from the Standesamt (civil registration office) remain in the local office in Vorpommern. Records for Hinterpommern are more problematic. Many Personenstandsbüchen (civil registration books) were destroyed or lost before 1945. Some can be found in the local registration office in Poland today. Some of the duplicate books (Zweitbücher) which were sent to the district court during the German era were given back to the local registraiton office after the war. Books older than 100 years were sent to the Polish State Archives.

"German Words in Church and Civil Records," Die Pommerschen Leute (Winter 1999).
Metasearch at genealogy.net. A search engine which give results from multiple databases at one time. This search is for first names and surnames.
Personenstandsbücher im Standesamt I in Berlin
Pommerscher Greif e.V. Standesamtverzeichnis, civil records, available online. (In German and English)
Pommerscher Greif e.V. Information on when civil records began in Pommern and how to find registry offices.
Standesamt Online Lists civil records that are online. Tells years available and which web page shows them.
Standesämter in Pommern
Standesregister und Personenstandsbücher der Ostgebiete im Standesamt I in Berlin - Gesamtverzeichnis für die ehemaligen Ostgebiete, die besetzten Gebiete und das Generalgouvernement. Frankfurt: Verlag für Standesamtswesen, 1992. ISBN 3-8019-5645-8
Stübs, Gunthard. "Accessing the Church Books and Civil Records of Pommern," Die Pommerschen Leute (Summer 2002).
Stübs, Gunthard. "Civil Records and Civil Registration in Pommern," Die Pommerschen Leute (Spring 2002).
Jan. 2024