Mexico, Colima, Civil Registration - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This is a collection of civil registration records for the Mexican state of Colima. It covers the years 1860 to 1997. Earlier records were handwritten in narrative style; later records were recorded in formatted registers. These records are written in Spanish.

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 civil registration wasn't strictly enforced in Mexico until 1867 and people did not always comply. For this reason, church registers should 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.

As of 6 September 2017, this collection included records from the following cities or municipality:

Reading These Records
These records are written in Spanish; also see the section For Help Reading These Records for translation helps.

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

Birth Records
 * Child's name and gender
 * Date and place of birth
 * Father's name, age, civil status, origin, occupation and residence
 * Mother's name, age, origin and residence
 * Names of paternal grandparents
 * Names of maternal grandparents
 * Names of witnesses
 * Witnesses' age, civil status and residence

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

Death Records
 * Name of deceased
 * Birth date and place of deceased
 * Age, gender and nationality of deceased
 * Civil status, occupation and residence of deceased
 * Date, time and place of death
 * Cause of death
 * Name of spouse, if married
 * Names of parents
 * Place of burial
 * Declarant's name, age, occupation, nationality and residence
 * Declarant's relationship to deceased

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before using this collection it is helpful to know:
 * Your ancestor's given name and surname
 * Identifying information such as residence
 * Estimated marriage or birth year

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.

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

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.

What Do I Do Next?
To learn more about using the information available in these records, view these lessons for free:
 * Documentos esenciales para buscar a sus antepasados - Spanish
 * Registros Civiles y Parroquiales – Spanish

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * When you have found your ancestors original record, it is a good idea to make a copy of it or cite where you found it for future reference
 * 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 1930, Mexico National Census
 * 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 and 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 and notice the asterisk for recently added or updated records
 * 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
 * Look for an index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume. In addition local genealogical and historical societies often have indexes to local records
 * Search the records of nearby localities Jalisco is on the north and east, and Michoacán is on the southeast
 * If your ancestors immigrated to the United States between 1909-1957, the border crossing records may be useful
 * Church records are also a good source of genealogical information. You should obtain copies of both church records and civil registration, when possible, since they do not necessarily provide the same information. For example, baptismal registers sometimes provide the names of the fathers of illegitimate children when the civil registration does not

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, Colima, Civil Registration, 1860-1997." Images. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : accessed 16 January 2018. Direccion General del Registro Civil del Estado de Colima (Colima Civil Registry State Archives).
 * Collection Citation:

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