Costa Rica, Catholic Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Costa Rica

What is in This Collection
This collection includes records from 1595 to 1992.

Parish priests performed the baptisms, confirmations, marriages, deaths, burials, and other holy sacraments in their assigned parish or parishes. For a complete list of all the parishes included in this collection, see the Parishes of Costa Rica coverage table.

All the original parish records were kept in the parish archive; however, the older records were centralized in the archdiocesan archive, as it is done currently. Parish records cover 95 to 100% of a city’s population. This collection only includes the parish records that were centralized at the archdiocesan archive at the time of filming.

These parish records have been preserved relatively well. Some of the older registers may appear to have some physical damage; therefore some data may have been lost or may be very difficult to read, however, in general they are in good condition to extract genealogical information.

The Catholic Church parish records are an excellent source for genealogical research in Costa Rica. These may also be the only records available before the implementation of the civil registration in 1887.

Reading These Records
These records are written in Spanish. For help reading these records see the following guides: If you speak Spanish, the following free online lessons may be helpful to learn how to use the information in these records:
 * Spanish Genealogical Word List
 * BYU Spanish Script Tutorial
 * FamilySearch Learning Center videos:
 * Reading Spanish Handwritten Records, Lesson 1
 * Reading Spanish Handwritten Records, Lesson 2
 * Reading Spanish Handwritten Records, Lesson 3
 * Documentos esenciales para buscar a sus antepasados - Spanish
 * Registros Civiles y Parroquiales – Spanish

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

Baptismal Records
 * Baptism date and place
 * Name of person baptized
 * When and where the person was born
 * Age at time of baptism
 * Legitimacy
 * Parents’ names, residence, and/or place of birth
 * Names of maternal and paternal grandparents
 * Names of godparents

Confirmation Records	
 * Name
 * Parents' names
 * Godparents
 * Parish of orgin
 * Parish of baptism

Marriage Record
 * Date and place of birth
 * Name of groom
 * Groom's age, civil status and occupation
 * Groom's birth place and current residence
 * Groom's parents' names
 * Name of bride
 * Bride's age, civil status and occupation
 * Bride's birthplace and current residence
 * Bride's parents' names
 * Godparents'names
 * Names of witnesses

Death Record
 * Date and place of death
 * Name and age of deceased
 * Cause of death
 * Name of spouse if married
 * Residence of deceased
 * Name of cemetery

Sample Images
Click on images for a larger view.

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the 


 * 1) Select City or Town
 * 2) Select Parish
 * 3) Select Record Type and Years to view the images

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Add any new information to your records
 * 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
 * Compile information for every person who has the same surname as your ancestor; this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual
 * Continue to search the records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives in the same county or nearby. This can help you identify other generations of your family or even the second marriage of a parent
 * 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

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * Costa Rica Civil Registration are also a good substitute when church 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
 * A boundary change could have occurred, and the record of you ancestor is now in a neighboring province. Search the records and indexes of neighboring cities, provinces, and regions
 * Improve your Search Results in FamilySearch Hispanic Records is in English and could be helpful as you look for your Hispanic ancestors
 * 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

Record Finder
Consult the Costa Rica Record Finder Table to find other 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.

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.


 * Collection Citation:"Costa Rica, registros parroquiales y diocesanos, 1595-1992." Database with images. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 14 June 2016. Parroquias de la Iglesia Católica, Costa Rica (Catholic Church parishes, Costa Rica).

Top of Page