Mexico, Tamaulipas, Civil Registration - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection of civil records for Tamaulipas covers the years 1800 to 2002.

This is a collection of civil registration records for Mexico. Records, such as birth, marriages, and deaths, are organized by state and then by municipality/city. Earlier records were handwritten in narrative style; later records were handwritten in formatted registers. These records are written in Spanish. Civil records in Mexico cover about 90 to 95 percent of the population. Beginning in 1859, the Mexican government began requiring births, marriages, and deaths to be recorded by civil authorities on a municipality/district level. Although these records are a great source of genealogical information, they are not complete as civil registration wasn't strictly enforced in Mexico until 1867 and people did not always comply. For this reason, church registers must be used alongside the civil records. The civil records of Mexico have been preserved relatively well. Only some of the older registers may have some physical damage; however, they are generally in good condition to extract genealogical information.

The Mexican civil registration was created to record the vital events of birth, marriage, death, and other civil events, which would determine and prove the civil status, existence, and condition of the population.

For Help Reading These Records
These records are in Spanish. For help reading the records, see the following guides:


 * Mexico Language and Languages
 * Spanish Genealogical Word List
 * BYU Spanish Script Tutorial
 * FamilySearch Learning Center videos:
 * Reading Spanish Handwritten Records, Lesson 1
 * Reading Spanish Handwritten Records, Lesson 2
 * Reading Spanish Handwritten Records, Lesson 3

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:

Birth records
 * Date and place of birth
 * Child's name and gender
 * Child’s date and place of birth
 * Presenter's name, age, civil status, origin, nationality and residence
 * Parents' names, age, civil status, origin, nationality and residence
 * Names of paternal grandparents
 * Names of maternal grandparents
 * Names of witnesses and their age and residence

Marriage records
 * Date and place of marriage
 * Names of the bride and groom
 * Groom's age, civil status, occupation, origin, nationality and residence
 * Names of groom's parents, their occupation, origin and residence
 * Bride's age and civil status
 * Names of bride's parents, their occupation, origin and residence
 * Names of witnesses
 * Witnesses' age, civil status, occupation, and residence
 * Witnesses' relationship to couple

Death records
 * Name and age of deceased
 * Date and place of death
 * Cause of death
 * Birth date and place of deceased
 * Nationality and residence of deceased
 * Parents' names of deceased
 * Spouse's name, if married
 * Declarant's name, age, occupation, nationality and residence
 * Declarant;s relationship to deceased
 * Names of witnesses
 * Witnesses' age, nationality, residence and relationship to deceased
 * Sometimes, burial information

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the :
 * 1) Select City or Municipality
 * 2) Select Record Type and Years to view the images.

Search the collection by image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine which one is your ancestor. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to make this determination.

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Add any new information to your records
 * Use the information to find more. For instance, use the age listed in the record to estimate a year of birth, if that is yet undetermined
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth to find the family in *Compile information for every person who has the same surname as your ancestor; this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual
 * Continue to search the records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives in the same county or nearby. This can help you identify other generations of your family or even the second marriage of a parent

I Can’t Find The Person I’m Looking For, What Now?
New information is constantly being indexed, microfilmed or updated. Periodically check back to see if your ancestor’s records have been added. You can see if the area you’ve been looking in has been recently updated by going to Historical Records Collections. Watch for an asterisk for recently added or updated records.
 * Consult the Mexico Record Finder to find other records marriages, and deaths cannot be found or are unavailable
 * The Mexico 1930 Census can tell you if your ancestors were1930, Mexico National Census can tell you if you ancestors were married civilly, by the Catholic Church or both
 * Check for variants of given names, surnames, and place names. Transcription errors could occur in any handwritten record; also, it was not uncommon for an individual be listed under a nickname or an abbreviation of their name. Click here for a list of Spanish name abbreviations
 * Unable to find your ancestor? Try looking through records in the surrounding localities. Nuevo León is to the west, Texas to the north, Veracruz to the south, and San Luis Potosí to the southwest.

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.

"Mexico, Tamaulipas, Civil Registration, 1800-2002." Database and images. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : accessed 17 January 2018. Archivo General del Registro del Estado de Tamaulipas (Tamaulipas Civil Registry State Archives).
 * Collection Citation:

Top of Page