Guatemala, Petén, Civil Registration - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language of the Record
Guatemala, Petén, registro civil

Record Description
This collection will include birth, marriage, death, indexes and other records from 1878-1988. These were created by the civil registration offices in the department of Petén, Guatemala.

Additional images will be published as they become available. Images courtesy of Registro Nacional de las Personas (RENAP).

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

Record Content
Birth records may contain the following information:
 * Birth date and place
 * Name at birth
 * Gender
 * Parents’ names
 * Parents’ residence
 * Witnesses’ names
 * Informant’s names, age, occupation, marital status, birth place, and residence
 * Document date

Marriage records may contain the following:
 * Marriage date and place
 * Groom’s name, age, occupation, birth place, resident city, and address
 * Groom’s legitimacy and parents’ names
 * Groom’s maternal and paternal grandparents’ names
 * Bride’s name, age, occupation, birth place, resident city, and address
 * Bride’s legitimacy and parents’ names
 * Bride’s maternal and paternal grandparents’ names
 * Groom’s marital status
 * Bride’s marital status
 * Document date

Death records may contain:
 * Death date and place
 * Deceased’s name, gender, and age
 * Deceased’s marital status, occupation, and parents’ names
 * Cause of death
 * Informant’s name, age, marital status, occupation, birth place, resident city and address
 * Document date

How to Use the Record
This section provides information on how to search the collection, what to do with information once found, some tips on how to find records, and what to do if no record is found.

When searching: As you are searching, it is helpful to know such information as your ancestor's given name and surname, some identifying information such as resident city, age, estimated event year, and one or both of the parents’ names.

Search the Collection
To browse by image: To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒ Select the “Municipality” category ⇒ Select the “Record Type and Years” category which takes you to the images.

Search the collection by image 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.

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

Using the Information

 * If the images have an index to the record set, use the index to find your ancestor, then use the reference information in the index to find the actual record
 * To effectively use civil records, follow these steps:
 * 1) Search for the relative or ancestor you have selected. When you find the person’s birth record, search for the births of his or her brothers and sisters.
 * 2) Search for the marriage of his or her parents. The marriage record will often give you information that leads to the parents’ birth record.
 * 3) Estimate the parents’ age and search for their birth records.
 * 4) Repeat the process for both the father and mother.
 * 5) If earlier generations are not in the record, search neighboring municipios.
 * 6) Search the death records for all family members.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as your ancestor and that your ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times.
 * Titles may be clues to property ownership, occupations, rank, or status within the community.
 * Continue to search the index and records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have served in the same unit or a nearby unit.
 * Be aware that, as with any index, transcription errors may occur.
 * The phrase “dío a luz” means the same as “was born” or “gave birth to”

Unable to Find Your Ancestor?

 * Check for variant spellings of the names.
 * 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 departments

Related Websites
RENAP official website (in Spanish)

Related Wiki Articles
Guatemala, Guatemala City, Census, 1877 (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Citations for This Collection
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information; that is, cite your sources. This will help people find the record again and evaluate the reliability of the source. 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. Citations are available for the collection as a whole and each record or image individually. Collection Citation: Image Citation: