Philippines, Manila, Civil Registration - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language of the Records
Filipinas, Manila Registro Civil.

Record Description
The records include images of birth, marriage, and death records for the city of Manila, Philippines. Includes indexes. Some folders of images are not arranged chronologically and/or sequentially.

Birth, Marriage, and Death records are in English for the most part. A few of the earlier marriage records are in Spanish. Spanish is also used in sections of later records.

In 1901, the Philippines passed a law that established local civil registry offices. These offices were to record the events of birth, marriage, and death. In 1945, changes in the law required more information to be recorded. The records are in English and Spanish.

The recording of civil events in a person's life, such as birth, marriage and death, require valid evidence, therefore making these records very reliable.

The recording of birth, marriage or death provides important information in a person's life, which become necessary for legal authorities and personal purposes.

After the Philippine Revolution of 1898, the church and state had separated. Within the first few years, officials responsible for civil registration were appointed in each municipality. In 1922 the Civil Records Centralization Act required “all municipal secretaries to submit quarterly reports on all registration matters to the Chief of the Division of Archives.”

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

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.

Suggested citation format for a record in this collection.

Record Content
Birth records usually contain the following information:


 * Name and gender of child
 * Child's date and place of birth
 * Child's race
 * Name and birthplace of father
 * Father's occupation
 * Maiden name of mother and her birthplace
 * Name of physician or midwife and their residence

Marriage records or marriage contracts usually contain the following information:


 * Date and place of the marriage
 * Name and age of groom
 * Groom's marital status, nativity and residence
 * Names of groom's parents
 * Name and age of bride
 * Bride's marital status, nativity and residence
 * Names of bride's parents
 * Names of the witnesses and their residence
 * Names of the persons who gave consent
 * Name of the person who solemnized the marriage
 * Beginning in 1945, the birthplace of bride and groom
 * Date of the marriage license
 * Date of the certificate (marriage contract)

Death records usually contain the following information:


 * Name, age and gender of deceased
 * Marital status, nativity and race of deceased
 * Name of spouse
 * Day, month and year when death occurred
 * Place of death
 * Duration of illness
 * Cause of death
 * Name of physician and his residence
 * On death certificates after 1958, names of father and mother appear
 * On death certificates after 1958, birth date and birthplace of deceased
 * Sometimes, burial information or transit permit given

How to Use the Record
To begin your search for birth records, it would be helpful if you knew the following information:


 * Name of parents or child
 * Approximate date that the child was born
 * Locality where the child was born

To begin your search for marriage records, it would be helpful if you knew the following information:


 * Name of bride or groom
 * Approximate year of marriage

To begin your search for death records, it would be helpful if you knew the following information:


 * Name of deceased
 * Approximate year of death

Search the Collection
To search the collection image by image select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page: ⇒Select the appropriate "Record Type" ⇒Select the appropriate "Year" ⇒Select the appropriate "Month and Certificate Numbers" which will take you to the images

Look at the images one by one comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination. Keep in mind:


 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names or variations of their name throughout their life.

For Help Reading These Records
These records are in Spanish and English. For help reading the records, see the following wiki articles:

Spanish Genealogical Word List

General Information About These Records
Divorce is not legal in the Philippines, but some records of annulment and legal separation are kept in the National Census and Statistics Office and in the local Domestic Relations Court of First Instance.

Only the marriage contract is forwarded to the National Census and Statistics Office. The other three remain in the office of the local civil registrar, although the couple may be given a copy of their marriage certificate. The contract is the vital record and is of most value to the researcher. The other three records, though they have much of the same information, may provide other valuable clues to the discerning genealogist.

Late registrations (beyond 30 days after the fact) are recorded in red ink. If the registration is over six months late, additional documents testifying to the validity of the parentage and legitimacy of the child will be included with the birth certificate. The additional documents may be:


 * Photographs
 * Baptismal certificates
 * Local civil registrar reports
 * Third-person affidavits
 * Police investigation report

These registrations are the best source for locating the date and place of an ancestor’s marriage or death.

For more information, see Philippines Civil Registration- Vital Records.

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached Wiki article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

Related Websites

 * Philippine Genealogy - Research your Family Tree
 * Alaminos City, Philippines website
 * Philippine Research

Related Wiki Articles

 * Philippines Civil Registration- Vital Records
 * Philippines Civil Registration (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Philippines Manila Civil Registration
 * Philippines Manila Civil Registration (Part 2)

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: Philippines, Manila Civil Registration, 1899-1994

When you copy information from a record, you should also 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.