Vietnam Civil Registration

Offices to Contact
National Civil Registration Office, local police registry offices.

Coverage and Compliance
Time period: 1858-present.

Population coverage: Possibly 20%.

Information Recorded in the Records
Birth records 

Civil Registration
Contents: Births:  Child’s name, birth date and place; parents’ names, residence, and occupation; witnesses’ ages, relationships, residences. Marriages: Bride and groom names, ages, residences, occupations, marriage date and place; sometimes ages and/or birth dates and places; parents' names; residences, occupations; witnesses; former spouses. Divorces: Often listed on the back of the marriage register. Includes names, ages, dates and places, occupations, residences. Death registers: Name of deceased, age, death date and place, occupation, name of surviving spouse, informant’s name and residence, cause of death, sometimes birth date and place, parents’ names, children’s names.

Marriage Contracts
Research use: Family linkage material. Particularly valuable prior to civil registration.

Record type: Documentation of marriage agreements between families.

Time Period: 1600-present.

Content: Name of husband and wife, marriage and birth dates of couple, names of parents, clan affiliation.

Location: Local municipal and district offices.

Population coverage: Approximately 10%.

Reliability: Good.