Mexico, Oaxaca, Civil Registration - FamilySearch Historical Records

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

Record Description
This collection of civil records for Oaxaca covers the inclusive years of 1861 to 2002..

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.

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 link from the collection landing page.

Record Content
Birth records usually contain the following information:


 * Date and place of the event
 * Name of the principal
 * Child’s gender
 * Child’s date of birth
 * Legitimacy
 * Parents' names, residence, and/or place of origin
 * Names of witnesses

Marriage records usually contain the following information:


 * Date and place of the event
 * Names of the bride and groom
 * Their civil statuses (widowed, single, divorced) at the time of the event
 * Places of origin and residence of the bride and groom
 * Names of parents
 * Name of witnesses

Death records usually contain the following information:


 * Place and date of the event
 * Place and date of death
 * Name of the principal (deceased)
 * Civil status of principal at time of death
 * Civil status and name of spouse, if married at time of death
 * Parents’ names
 * Sometimes, place of burial

How to Use the Records
To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒ Select the "Browse" link in the initial search page ⇒ Select the "District or Municipality" category ⇒ 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.

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


 * Mexico Language and Languages
 * Spanish Genealogical Word List

Related Websites

 * Oaxaca, Mexico

Related Wiki Articles

 * Mexico Civil Registration
 * Oaxaca

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, Oaxaca, Civil Registration, 1861-2002

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.

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 Oaxaca.

Suggested citation format for a record in this collection.