Philippines Civil Registration (National) - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
This collection includes civil records for 1902 to 1980. The records include birth, marriage and death certificates from various localities in the Philippines. Additional records for Manila can be found in the Philippines, Manila Civil Registration (FamilySearch Historical Records), 1899-1994 collection. Records are not available for all localities and the content and time period vary by locality.

This is an ongoing active collection. Additional records may be added to this collection. Check the wiki or browse the collection to determine current coverage. Original records are located in the National Census and Statistics Office, Manila, Philippines.

Record Categories
In 1901, the Philippines passed a law that established local civil registry offices. These offices were to record the events of birth, marriage, and death. This set is comprised of national copies of birth, marriage, and death certificates which were submitted to the National Census and Statistics Office. Records are not available for all localities and the coverage varies by locality. Marriage and Death records are handwritten in English for the most part. A few of the earlier marriage records are in Spanish. Spanish is also used in sections of later records.

Record Content
The recording of birth, marriage or death provides important information in a person's life. The information found in each record varies by year.

The recording of civil events in a person's life, such as birth, marriage and death, require valid evidence, therefore making these records very reliable.

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

Birth records usually contain the following information:


 * Child’s full name and gender
 * Date and place of birth
 * Names, ages, and residence of parents
 * Mother's maiden name
 * Birthplace of mother and father
 * Father's occupation
 * Religion of parents
 * Nationality

Marriage records usually contain the following information:


 * Names and ages of groom and bride
 * Date and place of marriage
 * Names and ages of the groom’s parents
 * Names and ages of the bride’s parents
 * Names of witnesses
 * Names of persons who gave consent
 * Name of person who solemnized the marriage
 * Beginning in 1945, birthplace of the husband and wife was recorded
 * Date of marriage license
 * Date the certificate was created/filed (marriage contract)

Death records usually contain the following information:


 * Deceased’s name and age (keep in mind that death records for women may be filed under their married name)
 * Date and place of death
 * Marital status/Name of spouse
 * Date and place of burial (cremation or removal)
 * Name of informant
 * Name of attending physician
 * Name of undertaker
 * On death certificates after 1958, names of parents
 * On death certificates after 1958, the birth date and place of deceased
 * Date the certificate was filed/created by the local civil registrar
 * Date of burial or transit permit

How to Use the Record
To begin your search you should know the following:
 * The person’s name
 * The approximate location of an event

Keep in mind:
 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names or variations of their name throughout their life.
 * The information in records is usually reliable, but depends upon the reliability of the informant.
 * Earlier records may not contain as much information as the records created later than 1945.
 * There is also some variation in the information given from one record to another.

To search for the birth records in this collection, it would be helpful if you knew the following information:


 * Name of parent or child
 * Approximate date that the child was born
 * Locality where the child was born

To search for the marriage records in this collection, it would be helpful if you knew the following information:


 * Name of bride or groom
 * Approximate year of marriage
 * Place of marriage

To search for the death records in this collection, it would be helpful if you knew the following information:


 * Name of deceased
 * Approximate year of death
 * Marital status/spouse's name at the time of deceased's death

Search the Collection
To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page: ⇒Select the appropriate "Province" ⇒Select the appropriate "Record Type" ⇒Select the appropriate "Year Range" category ⇒Select the appropriate "Municipality" which will take you to the images.

Look at the images and compare the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine which one is your ancestor. Regarding birth records, sometimes a child was named but died very young, and the parents would give the same name to the next child born of the same gender. Regarding marriage and death records, name changes, shortened names, or nicknames may have been used by your ancestors, so pay attention to the other relationships (parents, spouse, siblings, children).

Using the Information

 * 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 the parents' birth places to find former residences and to establish a migration pattern for the family.
 * The name of a marriage officiator is a clue to their religion or area of residence in the county. However, ministers may have reported marriages performed in other counties.
 * 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.
 * Use the marital status/marriage number (how many times a person was married) to identify previous marriages.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.

For Help Reading these Records
Some records may be in Spanish. For help reading the records see the following guides:
 * Spanish Genealogical Word List
 * Reading Spanish handwritten records
 * Script tutorial for Spanish

Unable to Find your Ancestor?
A boundary change could have occurred and the record of you ancestor is now in a neighboring province.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby counties.
 * 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.

Church records are also a good substitute when birth, marriage, and death records can’t be found or are unavailable.
 * Philippines Church Records
 * Philippines Births and Baptisms, Coverage Table (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Known Issues for 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
Philippine Islands Death Records

Related Wiki Articles

 * Philippines
 * Philippines Marriages (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Philippines Deaths and Burials (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Philippines Civil Registration- Vital Records
 * Philippines History
 * Philippines, Manila Civil Registration (FamilySearch Historical Records)

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: Philippines, Civil Registration (National), 1945-1982

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.