Mexico, Colima, Civil Registration - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language of the Record
Registro Civil del Estado de Colima, México

Record Description
This collection of civil records for Puebla covers the inclusive years of 1860 to 1997.

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. The text of these records is in Spanish.

Civil records in Mexico cover about 90 to 95% 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.

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

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.

Record Content
Birth records usually contain the following information:


 * Child's name and gender
 * Date and place of birth
 * Father's name, age, civil status, origin, occupation and residence
 * Mother's name, age, origin and residence
 * Names of paternal grandparents
 * Names of maternal grandparents
 * Names of witnesses
 * Witnesses' age, civil status and residence

Marriage records usually contain the following information:


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

Death records usually contain the following information:


 * Name of deceased
 * Birth date and place of deceased
 * Age, gender and nationality of deceased
 * Civil status, occupation and residence of deceased
 * Date, time and place of death
 * Cause of death
 * Name of spouse, if married
 * Names of parents
 * Place of burial
 * Declarant's name, age, occupation, nationality and residence
 * Declarant's relationship to deceased

Search the Collection
To browse the collection by image: ⇒ Select the "Browse" link in the initial search page ⇒ Select the "City or Municipality" ⇒ Select the "Record Type and Years" which takes you to 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.

Using the Information
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. Name indexes to baptisms, marriages, and death or burials make it possible to access a specific record quickly. Remember that these indexes may contain inaccuracies, such as altered spellings, misinterpretations, and optical character recognition errors if the information was scanned.

For Help Reading These Records
These records are in Spanish. For help reading the records, see the following resources:


 * Mexico Language and Languages
 * Spanish Genealogical Word List
 * 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

Surrounding Localities
Unable to find your ancestor? Try looking through records in the surrounding localities. Jalisco is on the north and east, and Michoacán is on the southeast.

Related Websites

 * Colima Maps
 * Colima History

Related Wiki Articles

 * Mexico
 * Colima
 * Mexico Civil Registration
 * Mexico Civil Registration Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
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.

Citation for This Collection
Citations for individual image records are available for this collection. Browse through images in this collection and click on the "Show Citation" box: Mexico, Colima, Civil Registration, 1860-1997

The following citation refers to the original source of the information published in FamilySearch.org Historical Records collections. Sources include the author, custodian, publisher, and archive for the original records.