Philippines, Manila, Civil Registration - FamilySearch Historical Records

Philippines

What Is In The Collection?
This collection includes birth, marriage, and death records for the city of Manila, Philippines. See the coverage table below for date ranges of each record group. The index currently covers birth certificates from 1900-1980.

Some folders of images are not arranged chronologically and/or sequentially.

Reading These Records
For the most part the records are in English. A few of the earlier records and sections of later 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 is often found in these records:

How Do I Search The Collection?
You can search the index or view the images or both. 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

Search The Index
Search by name by visiting the Collection Page.
 * 1) Fill in the search boxes on the Collection Page with the information you have.
 * 2) Click Search to show possible matches.

For more tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

View The Images
View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page.
 * 1) Select Record Type
 * 2) Select Year
 * 3) Select Month and Certificate Numbers to view the images.

For Help Reading These Records
These records are in Spanish and English. For help reading the records that are in Spanish, see the following wiki articles:


 * Spanish Genealogical Word List
 * Script tutorial for Spanish
 * Reading Spanish handwritten records

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.

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

 * When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. Save a copy of the image or transcribe the information. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details such as a title, an occupation, or land ownership. Add this new information to your records of each family. You should also look for leads to other records about your ancestors.
 * Cite the record entry for future reference. Save or print a copy of the image if possible.  The image citation is available by clicking on the information tab at the bottom left of the screen where you’ve found your ancestor.
 * 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 spouse to find a couple's birth records and parents' names.
 * Use the birth date or age and the place of birth to find the family in census records. See the Philippines Census for more information.
 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate church and land records. See the Philippines Land and Property for assistance.
 * Use the parents' birth places to find former residences and to establish a migration pattern for the family.
 * Continue to search the indexes and records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have lived in the same area or a nearby area. For this step, it helps to compile the marriage entries for every person who has the same surname as the bride or groom; this is especially helpful if the surname is unusual.
 * Witnesses often were relatives of the parents.

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.
 * 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.
 * There may be more than one person with the same name. When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * The name of a marriage officiator is a clue to their religion or area of residence in the province. However, ministers may have reported marriages performed in other provinces.
 * For marriage and death records, your ancestors may have used shortened names or nicknames, so pay attention to other relationships (parents, spouse, siblings, children, etc.) that can confirm whether you have the right person/record.
 * Church records are also a good source of genealogical information. If possible, you should obtain copies of both church records and civil registration, 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.
 * Vary the search terms. For example, search by either the given name or surname to return broader list of possible candidates which can then be examined for matches. Or try expanding the date range; this is especially useful in searching baptismal records, as it was not unusual for a child to be baptized weeks or even months after birth.
 * 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

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.

Citing this Collection
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information (often called citing 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:

Record citation (or citation for the index entry):

Image citation: