A Hajdú-Bihar Megyei Levéltár évkönyve 29. 2002-2003 (Debrecen, 2003)

Műhely - Nagy Pál-Papp József: Személyazonosító okmányok a XIX-XX. századi Magyarországon

Documents of Personal Identification in Hungary in the 19lh and 20lh Centuries

Pál Nagy and József Papp

Hajdú-Bihar Megyei Levéltár Évkönyve XXIX 427

On the basis of original sources, the essay discusses the development of documents of personal identification from their first emergence to the millennium.

Personal identifications emerged in a past not so distant by historical standards, two or three hundred years ago, as a result of social needs. The purpose of the first such documents was not primarily the identification of their bearer, but later social needs also created documents serving purely this purpose.

The most important documents of personal identifications initially were birth certificates (from the records of churches). State and local government administrative documents (e.g. certificates of military drafting, property, or birth) were also used alongside, in combination with church documents, for the purpose of providing proof of personal identity.

Later, in connection with the further organization of the artisans’ trades, guild documents (Kundschaft, letters of finishing apprenticeship, “Witness letters”, later replaced by “Itinerant Books” and “passport letters”) also fulfilled a function of proving personal identity; with later social changes, labor books and servant’s working permits also appeared.

Official documents serving exclusively the purpose of proving one’s personal identity first emerged in the middle of the 19th century, mainly in response to increased social mobility (demand for free movement) and social restructuring. Documents initially called “certifying passes” also included photographs of their holders from the early 20th century onward. Among these photo identifications, there were also documents for certain occupations (e.g. railroad of office employees, lawyers, sales agents, company representatives).

Personal identification booklets were issued pursuant a decree of the Ministry of Interior from 1947, solely at the request of citizens. Uniform and compulsory personal identification was introduced for citizens over 16 years of age by way of a decree of the Council of Ministers in 1954. Over and beyond formal and smaller content changes, a significant novelty was the introduction of the personal identification number, and the separation, in 2000, of personal identification cards and address cards indicating their holder’s address of permanent and/or temporary residence.

The essay also deals with the closely related issue of the registration of residence, which developed in a parallel way from 1879 with the content and formal development of personal identifications.

Keywords: documents of personal identification - church registry book - birth registry - administrative certificates - Kundschaft - Witness letter - Itinerant Book - passport letter - servant’s working permit - labor book - photo identifications - personal identification - personal identification number - personal identification card - address card - address registration - address records