Philippines, Civil Registration (Archives Division) - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language of the Record
Pangmamamayang pagtatalâ (Sangáy ng Artsibo)

Record Description
The records include copies of birth, marriage, and death certificates from the Archives Division of the Bureau of Records Management. It includes many localities throughout the Philippines primarily from 1922 to 1932, but some beginning as early as 1902 and ending as late as 1945. 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.

Until 1889 there was no central civil administration to collect, interpret, and preserve the civil registration records. Most vital records from before 1889 are in Catholic parish and diocesan archives.

In 1889, the Spanish government created the Central Office of Statistics. This office required each parish priest to periodically give the government a list of the births, marriages, and deaths in his area. The Catholic clergy had previously maintained records about births, marriages and deaths, and sent copies to the government. After 1889, clergy were required to regularly submit detailed reports. This system continued until the end of the Spanish administration in 1898.

After the Philippine Revolution of 1898, the church and state became separate. Within the first few years, officials responsible for civil registration were appointed in each municipality. In 1930, civil registration became mandatory.

In 1932 the Bureau of Census and Statistics was created to oversee civil registration. Many civil records were destroyed during World War II.

Divorce is not legal in the Philippines, but some records of annulment and legal separation are kept in the National Census and Statistics Office and in the local Domestic Relations Court of First Instance.

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

Coverage Table
This coverage table shows localities, record types and years that this collection has published:

Philippines, Civil Registration (Archives) Coverage Table (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Record Content
Birth records usually contain the following information:


 * Child's name and gender
 * Child’s date and place of birth
 * Child’s nationality
 * Child’s legitimacy
 * Names of parents, including maiden name of mother
 * Parents' age, birthplace and occupation
 * Number of children born to this mother

Marriage records usually contain the following information:


 * Husband’s name and age
 * Wife’s name and age
 * Date and place of marriage
 * Husband's birthplace, nationality and occupation
 * Number of previous marriages of husband
 * Wife's birthplace, nationality and occupation
 * Number of previous marriages of wife
 * Names of the husband’s parents
 * Names of the wife’s parents
 * Name of the person solemnizing the marriage and their title

Death records usually contain the following information:


 * Municipality and province of registration
 * Name, age and gender of deceased
 * Nationality, civil status, occupation and residence of deceased
 * Date, place and cause of death
 * Name of surviving spouse
 * Name of the hospital or institution, if death occurred there
 * Burial information
 * Name of attending physician
 * On death certificates after 1958, names of father and mother appear
 * On death certificates after 1958, the birth date and birthplace of deceased are given

How to Use the Record
To search the birth records in this collection, it would be helpful if you knew the following information:


 * Names of parents
 * Approximate year and place of baptism
 * Residence of parents

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


 * Name of bride or groom
 * Approximate year or place of marriage
 * Residence of bride or groom

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


 * Name of deceased
 * Approximate year and place of death
 * Residence of deceased

Search the Collection
To search the collection image by image ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page: ⇒Select the appropriate "Province" ⇒Select the appropriate “Municipality" ⇒Select the appropriate "Record Type" ⇒Select the appropriate "Year Range" 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 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. 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.

For Help Reading These Records
Some of these records are in Spanish. For help reading the records, see the following wiki articles:

Spanish Genealogical Word List

Using the Information
If you know your ancestor’s religion, also check the church archives of that region. Divorce records may be found in other countries where a person may have gone to get a divorce, such as the United States.

Unable to Find your Ancestor?
If you do not find the birth of the child in civil registration records, try looking in Catholic Church records for the appropriate area.

If you do not find the birth of the child in this collection, check the other digital collections for the Philippines published at FamilySearch.org:


 * Philippines, Civil Registration (Local), 1898-1980
 * Philippines, Civil Registration (National), 1945-1980

Related Websites

 * Research Help for Philippines Civil Registration and Other Philippine Records
 * Philippine Research helps
 * Philippine Islands Death Records

Related Wiki Articles

 * Philippines Civil Registration- Vital Records
 * Philippines Genealogy
 * Philippines

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 (Archives Division), 1902-1945

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.

Suggested citation format for a record in this collection.