In many cases, along with conscription records, state archives preserve the Matriculation rolls compiled by the Matriculation Service of the Military Districts, which is responsible for keeping official records of all services rendered to the state by the individual serviceman and all facts that change his position, during the time of his tenure on the rolls.

Each member of the military is uniquely identified by a progressive number, the “matriculation number,” in fact, linked to the enlistment class (which may be different from that of birth), the Military District of enlistment and the category of membership (as long as this existed).

For each soldier, the Roll shows in an extremely concise manner all the information about his military career: enlistment number, corps, date of enlistment, ranks, any honors, penalties imposed, desertions, etc. Matriculation sheets may be bound by matriculation order in volumes relating to the various classes. Only enlisted personnel, that is, those who have actually served in the military, are included in these annual volumes. Thus, it does not include the reformed (those found unfit for service due to health reasons), the exempt (commonly due to family reasons), and the draft dodgers (those who did not show up for conscription or call for enlistment).

The Matriculation Rolls of the Military Districts, accompanied by alphabetical rubrics that constitute the basic tool for conducting research, are paid to the State Archives of the relevant province at the end of the 70th year after registration; here they can be consulted in compliance with regulations protecting the confidentiality of personal data.

More complete information than the Matriculation Rolls, which are its summary, can be found in the matriculation files of military personnel, equally produced by the Military Districts and only occasionally paid to the State Archives. They are divided into two sections: troop and non-commissioned officers, and contain official records concerning the individual serviceman.

The General Directorate for Military Personnel (PERSOMIL), on the other hand, keeps the Service Record of officers – of all ranks and roles – who have been deceased for more than ten years (twenty years for generals).

At present, no military documentation of any kind is posted on the Ancestor Portal. However, on the Explore Archives page, within each individual State Archives section, you can find a description of the records held. This same section also indicates the existence, if any, of databases related to military records kept in that specific institute.

More generally, research on this type of documentation can be found on the Research Grants page under Military Sources.