Mexico, San Luis Potosí, Civil Registration - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language of the Records
Registro Civil del Estado de San Luis Potosí, México

Record Description
This collection of civil records for San Luis Potosí covers the inclusive years of 1859 to 2000.

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, they are generally 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.

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

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

Original records are also housed in different municipal archives throughout the state of San Luis Potosi.

Suggested citation format for a record in this collection.

Record Content
Records usually contain the following information:


 * Date and place of record
 * Child's name and gender
 * Child's date and place of birth
 * Presenter/father's name, age, civil status, origin and residence
 * Parents' names, age, occupation, origin, religion and race
 * Paternal grandparents
 * Maternal grandparents
 * Witnesses' names, their age, civil status, occupation and origin

Records usually contain the following information:


 * Date and place of marriage
 * Names of the bride and groom and their civil status
 * Names of parents
 * Name of witnesses, their age, civil status, occupation and origin

Records usually contain the following information:


 * Name and gender of deceased
 * Civil status and nationality of deceased
 * Date and place of death
 * Cause of death
 * Parents' names and their nationality
 * Sometimes, spouse's name if married
 * Declarant's name, age, nationality and residence
 * Decflarant's relationship to deceased
 * Sometimes, burial information

How to Use the Record
To search the index: Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the ancestors 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 compare the information about more than one person to find your ancestor.

When searching the index it is helpful to know the following:


 * The place where the event occurred
 * The name and surname of the person
 * The approximate date of the event
 * The name of the parents or spouse

Keep in mind:


 * The information in church records is usually reliable, but depends upon the reliability of the informant.
 * Earlier records may not contain as much information as the records created after the late 1800.
 * There is also some variation in the information given from one record to another.

If you are unable to find the ancestors you are looking for, try the following:


 * Check for variant spellings of the surnames.
 * Check for a different index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby localities.

To browse the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒ 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.

Look at the images one by one 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.

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.

Related Websites

 * Mexico Civil Registration PDF document
 * Dirreción General del Registro Civil del Distrito Federal

Related Wiki Articles

 * Mexico
 * Mexico Civil Registration
 * San Luis Potosi

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
Citations for individual image records are available for this collection. Browse through images in this collection and click on the "Show Citation" box: Mexico, San Luis Potosí, Civil Registration, 1859-2000

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.

A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the wiki article Help:How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.