Mexico, Durango, Civil Registration - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection of civil records for Durango covers the inclusive years of 1861 to 1995.

This is a collection of civil registration records for Mexico. Records, such as birth, marriages, and deaths, are organized by state and then by municipality/city. Earlier records were handwritten in narrative style later records were handwritten in formatted registers.

Civil records in Mexico cover about 90 to 95 percet of the population. Beginning in 1859, the Mexican government began requiring births, marriages, and deaths to be recorded by civil authorities on a municipality/district level. Although these records are a great source of genealogical information, they are not complete as civil registration wasn't strictly enforced in Mexico until 1867 and people did not always comply. For this reason, church registers must be used alongside the civil records. The civil records of Mexico have been preserved relatively well. Only some of the older registers may have some physical damage. However, in general they are in good condition to extract genealogical information.

The Mexican civil registration was created to record the vital events of birth, marriage, death, and other civil events which would determine and prove the civil status, existence, and condition of the population.

The civil registration records of Mexico are a reliable source for doing genealogical research.

Reading These Records
These records are in Spanish. For help reading these records see the following guides:
 * Spanish Genealogical Word List
 * Mexico Language and Languages
 * 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

What Can These Records Tell Me?

 * Birth
 * Marriage
 * Death

Sample Images
Birth records usually contain the following information:


 * Name and gender of child
 * Child's date and place of birth
 * Father's name, age, origin and residence
 * Mother's name
 * Witnesses' names, age and residence

Marriage records usually contain the following information:


 * Date and place of marriage
 * Names of the bride and groom
 * Groom's age, origin, civil status, occupation and residence
 * Names of groom's parents
 * Bride's age, origin, civil status, occupation and residence
 * Names of bride's parents
 * Names of witnesses

Death records usually contain the following information:


 * Name and age of deceased
 * Date, time and place of death
 * Parents' names
 * Declarant's name, age, civil status, occupation and residence
 * Declarant's relationship to deceased
 * Witnesses' names, age and residence
 * Burial information

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * Your ancestor's given name and surname
 * Identifying information such as residence
 * Estimated year of marriage or birth or death

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the :
 * 1) Select City or Municipality
 * 2) Select Record Type and Years to view the images.

Search the collection by image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine which one is your ancestor. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to make this determination.

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. Keep track of your research in a research log.

What Do I Do Next?
The civil registration records in Mexico are an excellent source for genealogical research after 1867. Important genealogical data can be found in these records, which may also include data of other family members to fill in another generation group. Begin your search by finding your ancestors in the index of birth, marriage, or death. Use the locator information in the index (such as page, entry, or certificate number) to locate your ancestors in the records. Compare the information in the record to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct person. You may need to compare the information of more than one person to make this determination. Be aware that as with any index, transcription errors may occur.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?
It is often helpful to extract the information on all children with the same parents. If the surname is unusual, you may want to compile entries for every person of the same surname and sort them into families based on the names of the parents. Continue to search the records to identify siblings, parents, and other relatives in the same or other generations who were born in the same town or nearby location.
 * When you have located your ancestor’s birth, marriage, or death record, carefully evaluate each piece of information about them. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors
 * Use the date along with the place to find the family in census records
 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate church and land records
 * The father’s occupation can lead you to employment records, military records, or other types of records
 * The parents' birth places can tell you former residences and can help to establish a migration pattern for the family

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?
Consult the Mexico Record Finder to find other records marriages, and deaths cannot be found or are unavailable New information is constantly being indexed, microfilmed or updated. Periodically check back to 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. Watch for an asterisk for recently added or updated records.
 * 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
 * Unable to find your ancestor? Try looking through records in the surrounding localities. Sinaloa is to the west, Chihuahua to the north, Coahuila to the northeast, Zacatecas to the southeast, and Nayarit to the south.

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached 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
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.

"Mexico, Durango, Civil Registration, 1861-1995." Images. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 16 January 2018. Citing Durango State Archives and municipal archives, Durango.
 * Collection Citation:

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