Mexico, Nuevo León, Civil Registration - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in the Collection?
This collection of civil records for Nuevo León covers the years 1859 to 1962.

The civil registration records for Mexico cover the vital events of birth, marriages, and deaths. They 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. Here is a link to a Spanish Genealogical Word List which may be helpful. Also, see the section For Help Reading These Records for translation helps.

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, it is suggested to use church registers alongside the civil records to help in your research. 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 and are a reliable source to extract genealogical information.

Sample Images
Birth records may contain the following:


 * Date of record
 * Presenter's name, age, origin, residence and race
 * Child's name and gender
 * Child’s date and place of birth
 * Parents' names, age, origin and race
 * Paternal grandparents
 * Maternal grandparents
 * Witnesses' names, ages and origins

Marriage records may contain the following:


 * Date and place of marriage
 * Names of the bride and groom
 * Groom's age, civil status, occupation, origin, residence and race
 * Names of groom's parents
 * Bride's age, legitimacy and race
 * Names of bride's parents
 * Names of witnesses, their age and occupation

Death records may contain the following:


 * Name, age and nationality of deceased
 * Date, time and place of death
 * Cause of death
 * Parents' names
 * Civil status and name of spouse, if married at time of death
 * Witnesses' names, age and residence
 * Sometimes, place of burial

How Do I Search the Collection?
View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page  ⇒ Select the "City or Municipality" ⇒ 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.

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


 * 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

I Can’t Find Who I’m Looking For, What Now?
If you are unable to find your ancestor try looking through records in the surrounding localities. Coahuila is to the west, Tamaulipas to the east, and San Luis Potosí to the southwest. Nuevo León shares about a 10 mile border with Texas on the north and about a 7 mile border with Zacatecas on 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
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image. Collection Citation:

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