Philippines, Court Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
This collection will include records from 1838-1936.

The records include court records from various provinces of the Philippines mostly dating from the Spanish Period. These records contain land records, guardianships, wills, powers of attorney and other legal documents. Original records are located in the Record Management and Archives Office, National Library, Metropolitan Manila, Philippines.

All Philippine citizens are required to declare any changes in civil status to their local civil registrar. The registrar writes down all changes in books called registers.

Sometimes it is more simple to visit the local civil registrar’s office, than it is to visit the courts. However, the law requiring the reporting of changes to the registrar has not been regularly kept or enforced.

Although the earliest court records and local civil registrar logs and registers date from 1900, most are dated after World War II.

Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the information published in FamilySearch.org Historical Record collections. Sources include the author, custodian, publisher, and archive for the original records.

Suggested citation format for a record in this collection.

Record Content
These court records may contain the following information:


 * Name of deceased
 * Date of death
 * Residence of ancestor
 * Names of family members
 * Name of guardian
 * Name of the landowner

How to Use the Record
To search this collection, it would be helpful to know the following information:


 * Name of ancestor
 * Approximate year of death
 * Residence of ancestor

Search the Collection
To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒ Select the appropriate “Court Jurisdiction” ⇒ Select the appropriate “Book Number and Years” which will take you to the images.

Look at the images one by one comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * Check records for each jurisdiction for names of ancestors

Unable to Find Your Ancestor?

 * Because divorce is not legal in the Philippines, there are no divorce records. Look for records in other countries where divorce is legal.

General Information About These Records
There are many records, but few are indexed. Court names have changed over the years, and the records use many difficult legal terms and abbreviations. Search court records only after you have searched more helpful records.

Related Websites

 * Philippine Islands Death Records

Related Wiki Articles
Philippines Court Records

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records.

A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the wiki article Help:How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.

Citation Example for a Record Found in This Collection
“Argentina, Buenos Aires, Catholic Church Records, 1635-1981,” images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org: accessed 28 February, 2012), La Plata &gt; San Ponciano &gt; Matrimonios 1884-1886 &gt; image 71 of 389 images, Artemio Avendano and Clemtina Peralta, 1884; citing Parroquia de San Ponciano en la Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Matrimonios. San Ponciano, La Plata, Buenos Aires.