Waymark Project

Records guide

Finding and requesting family documents

Most family searches start with a piece of paper someone already has. In Bangladesh, three kinds of record do most of the work: birth registrations, national ID records and land records. This guide explains what each one tells a family researcher and which government office holds the official copy. It is a map to the official sources. It does not walk you through any application form.

What we do and do not do. We point you to the official source. We do not process applications, collect fees, handle original documents or ID numbers, or give legal advice. Please never email us a scan of an ID. Procedures and fees change, so use the official site and your nearest Bangladesh embassy or consulate for current steps.

1 · Birth records

The starting point for a family tree

A birth registration records a person's name, date and place of birth, parents' names and a permanent address. The permanent address names a district and upazila, which tells you which gazetteer to open in the catalog.

Names and dates are sometimes spelled differently from one paper to the next. Write down every variant you find.

Who holds it: the government's Birth and Death Registration Information System (BDRIS), through local registrars and Bangladesh missions abroad.

Official: bdris.gov.bd

2 · National ID records

A modern link to a home address

The National ID is issued by the Bangladesh Election Commission. Its identity details include a permanent address, which can point to a family's home district and help you cross-check what a birth record says.

Whether a Bangladesh embassy or consulate offers NID services varies by country, so ask the one nearest you.

Who holds it: the Election Commission's NID wing.

Official: services.nidw.gov.bd

3 · Land records

Who held which plot, and where

Land is recorded by mouza (revenue village) and khatian (record of rights), which name holders and plots. The survey series you will meet are CS, SA, RS and BS. Our glossary explains these terms, and the district gazetteers show how the area was divided around 1910.

Heirship and ownership changes use terms such as warishan (heirs) and namjari (mutation). For any legal question about inheritance, ask a lawyer in Bangladesh.

Who holds it: the Ministry of Land and local land offices.

Official: land.gov.bd · eporcha.gov.bd

Where the old books help

If a family document names a thana, pargana or mouza you can't place, look it up in the district gazetteer for that area in the catalog. Gazetteers list subdivisions and police stations as they were around 1910, which often explains a place name on an old deed.

In the United States, consular services are offered by the Embassy of Bangladesh in Washington, D.C. and the Consulate General in New York. Confirm with them which services they offer.

Links last reviewed 24 October 2026. If a government site does not open, try again later. Some of these sites are slow or restrict automated access.

Glossary

Terms you will meet in old land and legal records

Spellings vary in English sources. Ask the local land office if a term's meaning in your family's district is unclear.

Bigha, kani
Traditional land-area units. Their size varied by region, so a record in bigha needs a local conversion.
Dag
A numbered plot on a survey map. Land records cite the dag number.
Dolil
A deed, such as a sale or gift of land.
Jote, raiyat
A cultivating tenant's holding, and the tenant who held it.
Khatian
A record of rights: who owns or holds which plots in a village. Several survey series exist (CS, SA, RS).
Mouza
The basic revenue village, with its own survey map and records.
Namjari (mutation)
Updating the land record after a sale or inheritance so the new owner's name appears.
Porcha
A certified copy of a khatian. Land offices issue it, and the eporcha.gov.bd portal serves it online.
Taluk
A land holding or sub-estate, often below a zamindar.
Thana, upazila
The police-station area, now the upazila, used to place a village within a district.
Zamindar
A landlord who collected revenue for the government under the Permanent Settlement of 1793.
Subah, Diwani
A Mughal province, and the right to collect its revenue, which the East India Company received in 1765.