Mexico Civil Registration Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Foreign Language Title
Registro Civil de México

Collection Time Period
The collection of the civil records for Mexico covers the inclusive years of 1867 to 1937.

Record Description
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. The earlier records were handwritten in narrative style and later these records were handwritten in formatted registers. The text of these records is in Spanish.

Record Content
The key genealogical facts found in most birth records are: * Date and place of the event * Name of the principal * Child’s gender * Child’s date of birth * Legitimacy * Parents names, their residence and/or place of origin * Names of witnesses

The key genealogical facts found in most marriage records are: * Date and place of the event * Names of the bride and groom * Their civil status (widowed, single, divorce) at the time of the event * Place of origin and residence of the bride and groom * Names of parents * Name of witnesses

The key genealogical facts found in most death records are: * Place and date of the event * Place and date of death * Name of the principal (deceased) * Civil status of principal at time of death * Civil status and name of spouse, if married at time of death * Parent’s names * Sometimes, place of burial == Record History == Civil records in Mexico cover about 90 to 95% 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 people did not always comply, and civil registration wasn't strictly enforced in Mexico until 1867. 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 in general they are in good condition to extract genealogical information.

How to Use the Records
The civil registration records in Mexico are an excellent source for genealogical research after 1867. Important genealogical data can be found in these records, which may also include data of other family members to fill in another generation group.

Why This Collection Was Created?
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.

Record Reliability
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. The earlier records were handwritten in narrative style and later these records were handwritten in formatted registers. The text of these records is in Spanish.

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the Wiki Article: How to Cite FamilySearch Collections

Please add sample citations to this article following the format guidelines in the wiki article listed above. Examples of citations:


 * United States. Bureau of the Census. 12th census, 1900, digital images, From FamilySearch Internet (www.familysearch.org: September 29, 2006), Arizona Territory, Maricopa, Township 1, East Gila, Salt River Base and Meridian; sheet 9B, line 71
 * Mexico, Distrito Federal, Catholic Church Records, 1886-1933, digital images, from FamilySearch Internet (www.familysearch.org: April 22, 2010), Baptism of Adolfo Fernandez Jimenez, 1 Feb. 1910, San Pedro Apóstol, Cuahimalpa, Distrito Federal, Mexico, film number 0227023

Style Guide
For guidelines to use in creating wiki articles that describe collections of images and indexes produced by FamilySearch, see: FamilySearch Wiki: Guidelines for FamilySearch Collections pages

Sources of Information for This Collection:
"Mexico Civil Registration", database, FamilySearch (http://pilot.familysearch.org/recordsearch), 2009.

Digital copies of original records housed at various Civil Registry Offices throughout Mexico.

The format for citing FamilySearch Historical Collections, including how to cite individual archives is found in the following link: How to Create Source Citations for FamilySearch Historical Records Collections