Venezuela Civil Registration - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language of the Records
Registro Civil de Venezuela

Record Description
This Collection will include records from 1873 to 2003.

This collection includes births, marriages, and deaths that are registered in separate books at different municipal offices of the civil registry. Most records are well-preserved. Earlier records are handwritten in Spanish; newer records are handwritten, also in Spanish, in formatted records. Some localities may be listed under their old administrative jurisdictions, depending on the time of the creation of the record.

Before 1873, the Catholic Church was the only organization that recorded important events in a person’s life, such as baptism, marriage, and death or burial. However, in the early months of 1826, the government was already manifesting an interest in creating the civil registration of the judicial and non-judicial civil acts of their citizens under the National Treasury Department in the mortgage annotations office. The government also wanted a duplicate copy of the Catholic Church registers to use for civil records.

At the Family History Library, the microfilm collection of the civil registration records for Venezuela covers the years 1836-2000. However, the current digital records collection that is available through FamilySearch Historical Records includes only the civil registration for the city of Maracaibo, Zulia, Venezuela for the years 1873-2003. Eventually, more records will be added for other localities.

The civil registration was created to record the vital information of important events in the life of the citizens.

The civil registration records are one of the best sources for genealogical research after 1873. For records issued before this date, it is recommended that you search the Catholic Church records.

The civil registration was created to record the vital information of important events in the life of the citizens. They are one of the best sources for genealogical research after 1873. For records issued before this date, it is recommended that you search the Catholic Church records.

For a list of records by localities and dates currently published in this collection, select the Browse.

Record Content
Most birth records include the following:


 * Name of civil authority of local municipality
 * Date and place of registration
 * Presenter of child (usually the father)
 * Name and gender of child
 * Date, time and place of birth
 * Legitimacy of child
 * Parents’ names, including maiden name of mother
 * Occupation of father
 * Names of witnesses

Most marriage records include the following:


 * Date and place of marriage
 * Name of local civil authority
 * Name and age of groom
 * Groom's legitimacy
 * Groom's occupation, marital status, and origin
 * Groom's religion
 * Names of the groom’s parents
 * Parents' age, occupation and residence
 * Name and age of bride
 * Bride's occupation, marital status and origin
 * Bride's religion
 * Names of the bride’s parents
 * Parents' age, occupation and residence
 * Names of witnesses, their age, occupation and residence

Most death records include the following:


 * Date and place of registration
 * Name of local civil authority
 * Name of local informant, their occupation and residence
 * Name and age of deceased


 * Date, time and place of death
 * Sometimes, cause of death is given
 * Sometimes, spouse's name if deceased was married
 * Sometimes, parents’ names if deceased was a minor
 * Burial information

How to Use the Record
To search the collection with the index:

Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the ancestors in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to find your ancestor.

When searching the index it is helpful to know the following:


 * The county where the birth, marriage, or death occurred
 * The name of the person at the time of the event
 * The approximate event date
 * The event place

Compare the information in the record to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct person. You may need to compare the information of more than one person to make this determination. When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.

When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. Add this new information to your records of each family.

For example:


 * Looking in the same collection, you may be able to identify other members of the family.
 * Compile the marriage entries for every person who has the same surname as the bride or groom; this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual.
 * Continue to search the marriage records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives of the bride and groom who may have married in the same county or nearby. This can help you identify other generations of your family or even the second marriage of a parent. Repeat this process for each new generation you identify.

If you want to find more information about the family, the pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records.

For example:


 * Use the marriage date and place as the basis for compiling a new family group or for verifying existing information.
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth of each partner to find a couple’s birth records and parents’ names.
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth to find the family in census records.
 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate church and land records.
 * Use occupations to look for other types of records such as employment or military records.
 * Use the parents’ birthplaces to find former residences and to establish a migration pattern for the family.
 * The name of the officiator is a clue to the family’s religion or area of residence in the county. However, ministers may have reported marriages performed in other counties.
 * Use the marriage number to identify previous marriages.

Keep in mind:


 * The information in marriage records is usually reliable, but depends upon the reliability of the informant.
 * Earlier records may not contain as much information as the records created after the late 1800s.
 * There is also some variation in the information given from one record to another record.

If you are unable to find the ancestors you are looking for, try the following:


 * Check for variant spellings of the surnames.
 * Search for the marriage record of the marriage partner, if known.
 * Check for a different index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby counties.

To search the collection with the browse, you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select the "Browse" link in the initial search page ⇒Select the "State" ⇒Select the "City or Municipality" ⇒Select the "Parish or District" ⇒Select the "Record Type and Years" which takes you to the images.

Look at the images one by one 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.

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached Wiki 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.

Related Websites

 * Consejo Nacional Electoral (CNE)

Related Wiki Articles

 * Venezuela

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
Citations for individual image records are available for this collection. Browse through images in this collection and click on the "Show Citation" box: Venezuela, Civil Registration, 1873-2003

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 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.

Original records are also housed at local offices of the civil registry.