Free Blank Family Tree Template

How to Use This Template

1. Click the button above to open the template in your browser.
2. Print on standard A4 paper, or use File → Print → Save as PDF.
3. Start with yourself at the bottom — fill in your name, then your parents above, then their parents.
4. Add dates of birth, marriage, and death as you find them.

About This Template

A blank family tree template is the most direct way to record and visualise your family history. This template shows three generations on a single A4 page: you at the base, your parents in the row above, and your four grandparents across the top. The portrait layout reads naturally — branches grow upward, just as with a real tree.

The template is intentionally simple. There are no distracting design elements — just clean boxes with enough space to write names, dates, and places clearly. This makes it equally suited to a child filling it in with crayon for a school project and an adult beginning serious genealogy research. Start with whatever you already know; leave gaps for information you have yet to find. A partially completed tree is infinitely more useful than a blank one.

For most people, starting with the blank family tree is the right first step. Once you have filled in three generations, you may want to move to a 4-generation template to extend further back, or to a pedigree chart if you are beginning more focused ancestry research.

Tips for Filling In Your Family Tree

• Use full names. For women, record their birth surname (maiden name), not their married name. This is the standard genealogy convention and makes future research much easier.
• Add dates and places. Dates of birth, marriage, and death — and the places where these events occurred — are the core data points in any family tree. Even approximate dates ("about 1945") are worth recording.
• Note your sources. When you verify a fact from a birth certificate, family record, or other source, note it alongside the entry. This saves you from re-researching the same information later.
• Leave gaps honestly. It is completely normal to have incomplete information beyond two or three generations. Leave boxes blank rather than guessing — accuracy is more valuable than apparent completeness.

Frequently Asked Questions