Brazil, Mato Grosso, Civil Registration - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection of civil birth, marriage, and death records includes the period of 1845-2013 from civil registry offices (cartórios) in the Mato Grosso State, Brazil.

Regularly, the registration of civil records was created in books sequentially numerated preceded by a letter A, B, C, or E according to the type of registry as follows: “A” for births, “B” for Marriages and “B-Aux” for religious marriages with civil effect, “C” for death, and “E” for other type of registry. The records are usually listed in chronological order by the date of registration. The old registry books were handwritten in narrative style, but the newer and current registries are handwritten in formatted records. These records include reliable information for doing family history research after 1888.

Reading These Records
For help reading these Portuguese records, see the following:
 * Portuguese Genealogical Word List
 * Brazil Language and Languages

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:

Birth Records
 * Event date and location
 * Presenter's name (usually the father)
 * Date, time, and place of birth
 * Name of child and gender
 * Mother's name
 * Names of paternal grandparents
 * Names of maternal grandparents
 * Names of witnesses

Marriage Records
 * Date, place, and time of marriage
 * Names of bride and groom
 * Groom's birth date, nationality, civil status, origin, and residence
 * Names of groom's parents and place of residence
 * Bride's birth date, nationality, civil status, and occupation
 * Names of bride's parents
 * Names of witnesses

Death Records
 * Date and place of registration
 * Informant's name
 * Name, gender, and age of deceased (Keep in mind that the death record for women may be filed under her married name.)
 * Birth date
 * Death date, time and place of death
 * Age, and nationality
 * Cause of death
 * Names of parents
 * Burial place

Collection Content
For details about these records and help using them see the wiki article: Brazil Civil Registration - FamilySearch Historical Records.

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

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the 


 * 1) Select Municipality
 * 2) Select Civil Registration Office
 * 3) Select Record Type and Years to view the images.

To learn more about using the information in Brazil's civil records, view this lesson for free: Brazil Beginning Research Series Lesson 2: Civil Registration Records - English

I Found Who I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Add any new information to your records
 * Make sure to fully transcribe and cite the record entry for future reference; see the section Citing This Collection for assistance. Save or print a copy of the image
 * Use the information to find more. For instance, use the age listed in the record to estimate a year of birth, if that is yet undetermined
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth of each spouse to find a couple's birth records and parents' names
 * The birth and/or age may also help you find the family in the Brazil Census
 * Compile the marriage entries for every person who has the same surname as the bride or groom; this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual

I Can't Find Who I'm Looking For, What Now?

 * Brazil Catholic Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records are also a good substitute when civil records of births, marriages, and deaths cannot be found or are unavailable
 * 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
 * Brazil Emigration and Immigration may be useful if your ancestors immigrated to or from another country
 * 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

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in Brazil.
 * Record Finder
 * Research Tips and Strategies

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.