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.

For the most part the records are in English. A few of the earlier marriage records are in These records are written in Spanish. Spanish is also used in sections of later records. See the "For Help Reading these Records" section for Spanish translation helps.

Sample Images
Birth records usually contain the following information:
 * Name and gender of child
 * Child's date and place of birth
 * Child's race
 * Name and birthplace of father
 * Father's occupation
 * Maiden name of mother and her birthplace
 * Name of physician or midwife and their residence

Marriage records or marriage contracts usually contain the following information:
 * Date and place of the marriage
 * Name and age of groom
 * Groom's marital status, nativity and residence
 * Names of groom's parents
 * Name and age of bride
 * Bride's marital status, nativity and residence
 * Names of bride's parents
 * Names of the witnesses and their residence
 * Names of the persons who gave consent
 * Name of the person who solemnized the marriage
 * Beginning in 1945, the birthplace of bride and groom
 * Date of the marriage license
 * Date of the certificate (marriage contract)

Death records usually contain the following information:
 * Name, age and gender of deceased (keep in mind that death records for women may be filed under their married name)
 * Marital status, nativity and race of deceased
 * Name of spouse
 * Day, month and year when death occurred
 * Place of death
 * Duration of illness
 * Cause of death
 * Name of physician and his residence
 * On death certificates after 1958, names of father and mother appear
 * On death certificates after 1958, birth date and birthplace of deceased
 * Sometimes, burial information or transit permit given

How Do I Search the Collection?
This section contains tips and information about how to search the collection.

As you are searching it is helpful to know such information as your ancestor’s given name, surname, residence, age, and family relationships. 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.

Some record sets have indexes. These indexes were created at the end of the year. Copy errors could have been made in the index, so you want to find the actual record to verify the information is correct. Using the index is a helpful way to find the actual record.

To search the collection by name: Fill in the requested information in the boxes on the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the individuals in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to look at the information on several individuals comparing the information about them to your ancestors to make this determination.

To search the collection image: Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page: ⇒Select the appropriate "Record Type" ⇒Select the appropriate "Year" ⇒Select the appropriate "Month and Certificate Numbers" which will take 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 and English. For help reading the records, see the following wiki articles:


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

What Do I Do Next?

 * 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 Philippines Census.
 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate church (see “Related Wiki Articles” section below) and land records Philippines Land and Property.
 * 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 province. However, ministers may have reported marriages performed in other provinces.
 * 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.
 * Use the marital status to identify previous marriages (whether a divorce or death dissolved a previous marriage).
 * Witnesses often were relatives of the parents.

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.
 * For death records, the information in records is usually reliable, but depends upon the knowledge of the informant.
 * 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.
 * 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.
 * 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.

General Information About These Records
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.

Only the marriage contract is forwarded to the National Census and Statistics Office. The other records remain in the office of the local civil registrar, although the couple may be given a copy of their marriage certificate. The contract is the vital record and is of most value to the researcher. The other records, though they have much of the same information, may provide other valuable clues to the discerning genealogist.

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: