Puerto Rico Civil Registration

History

 * The civil registration in Puerto Rico began in early 1885. The whole population of Puerto Rico living since 1885 is registered in these records. Most municipalities have births, marriages, and deaths from 1885, but some have records from earlier years.
 * The Demographic Registry Office of Puerto Rico (Registro Demográfico de Puerto Rico) has the responsibility to preserve all the vital data of the citizens of Puerto Rico, such as the registration of births, marriages, and deaths. The registry provides certified copies of all documents; makes legal corrections of errors, legal changes, and administrative changes; and recaps all the statistical information for the Health Department.
 * The civil registration of Puerto Rico is a very reliable source for doing family history. In order to register an event, the person registering the event needs to provide various legal proofs of identification. The registry also allows 10 days to register a birth free of charge. After that, the person needs to pay a fee. This promotes the registration of all citizens in a timely manner.
 * Before 1885, the vital information of a person was registered in the Catholic Church parish records.

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.

Where to Find the Records

 * Puerto Rico Birth, Death, Marriage Certificates
 * Vital records in Puerto Rico

A wiki article describing an online collection is found at:


 * Puerto Rico Civil Registration Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Puerto Rico, Records of Foreign Residents (FamilySearch Historical Records)