Argentina Civil Registration

Online Collections

 * 1722-1911 Argentina Marriages, 1722-1911 (Argentina matrimonios, 1722-1911) at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index, incomplete; also at Ancestry ($), MyHeritage ($)


 * British Armed Forces and Overseas Births and Baptisms, FindMyPast, index and images, ($)
 * British Armed Forces and Overseas Banns and Marriages, Angola, FindMyPast, index and images, ($)
 * British Armed Forces and Overseas Deaths and Burials, FindMyPast, index and images, ($)

Offices to Contact
Argentina has no single repository of civil registration records.

Civil registration registers are maintained by the office of the Dirección del Registro Civil in the municipal district. The original book stays in the municipal office and duplicate copies are sent to the provincial or judicial archives of the province or the General Archive of the Tribunal in the federal district.

A village may belong civilly to a larger nearby town. In large cities, there may be many civil registration districts. Use gazetteers and other geographic references to identify the place your ancestor lived and the civil registration office that served it. See Argentina Gazetteers.

Local Civil Registration Municipal Offices
An example of an address format is:


 * Dirección del Registro Civil
 * Oficina de Inscripciones y Rectificaciones
 * (City), (Province), Argentina


 * Find the Argentina postal code here.

Provincial Archives and Tribunal Archives
The civil registration records for the federal district are preserved on microfiche and there is a general index by sex and type of record (birth, marriages, deaths, recognitions, inscriptions and adoptions).

For the province of Buenos Aires, use the following:

Registro Provincial de las Personas Calle 1 y 60 N° 1342 La Plata (1900) Buenos Aires, Argentina

Telephone: +54 0221-429-6200 Email: [mailto:gba.gob.ar gba.gob.ar] Email: [mailto:dprp@gob.gba.gov.ar dprp@gob.gba.gov.ar]

Historical Background
The earliest vital records in Argentina were made by the churches. In 1886 the civil government began keeping vital records. Even though the law was passed in 1886, most of the provinces started keeping records at different times. Most had the system going by 1900. After that date, most individuals who lived in Argentina are recorded.

Coverage and Compliance
Every municipal district was to make duplicate copies of their books. In Buenos Aires they kept the original books and sent the copies to the Archivo General de Tribunales in the Federal District. In the provinces they were to be send the copies to the provincial or judicial archives of each province.

According to the law, the public has liberal access to the civil records. The director of the civil archive is required to provide interested parties with a complete copy of any record, including marginal notes, under his jurisdiction.

Information Recorded in the Records
The information recorded in civil registration records varied over time. The later records generally give more complete information than the earlier ones.

Births (nacimientos)

Births were usually registered by the infant’s father or by a neighbor or friend of the family within a few days of the event.

A birth record includes:
 * Day and time of the birth
 * Name of the newborn
 * Names of parents
 * Town where the birth occurred, which may be different than where it was registered
 * Address of the house or hospital in which the birth took place
 * Age of the parents
 * Their birthplaces or residences
 * Marital status
 * Professions
 * Number of other children born to the mother
 * Sometimes information about the grandparents

Corrections or additions to a birth record may have been added as a note in the margin.

Marriages (matrimonios, casamientos)

Early civil marriage entries simply contained:
 * Name of the bride and groom
 * Marriage date

Later records may include:
 * Ages of the bride and groom
 * Occupations
 * Civil status
 * Residence
 * Names of their parents
 * Sometimes names of grandparents
 * Sometimes birth places for the bride and groom

Because the Catholic Church continued keeping records after the creation of the civil registration in 1886, two types of records are available for the marriages. Be sure to search both records.

Divorce Records (Divorcios)

Divorces are not recorded with the civil registration, but rather in the courts. The Family History Library has very few divorce records in its collection. You may obtain information from divorce records by contacting the court of the town or municipality where the divorce took place.

Deaths (defunciones) 

Early civil death records list:
 * Person’s birth
 * Spouse and/or parents

Deaths were recorded within a few days of the event in the town or city where the person died.

Later death records generally give:
 * Name
 * Date and place of death
 * Sometimes age or date of birth of a child
 * Place of residence
 * Occupation
 * Cause of death
 * Burial information
 * Informant's name (often a relative)
 * Name of a spouse or parents

Extract Forms
The following extract forms were created by Dr. George Ryskamp, JD, AG. These particular forms are designed to be used for Spanish research; however, they can help in other research areas, such as Italy, France, Portugal, etc. Click on the type of record form you would like to use and print it for your own files.

[[Media:Baptism_template.pdf|Birth/Baptism Extract Form]]

[[Media:Marriage_Template.pdf|Marriage Extract Form]]

[[Media:Death_Template.pdf|Death/Burial Extract Form]]

These forms are designed to help you quickly analyze and organize your documents. They can become a personal index for your family records.