Mexico, Quintana Roo, Civil Registration - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
The collection of the civil records for Quintana Roo covers the years 1866 to 1902.

This is a collection of civil registration records for the State of Quintana Roo, 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 in formatted registers.

Civil records in Mexico cover about 90 to 95 percent 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.

Records in this collection are generally reliable, but depend on the reliability of the informant.

For Help Reading These Records

These records are in Spanish. For help reading the records, see the following guides:


 * Mexico Language and Languages
 * 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

What Can This Collection Tell Me?
Birth records may contain the following:


 * Name and gender of child
 * Date of birth
 * Legitimacy
 * Parents' names, residence, and/or places of origin
 * Names of witnesses

Marriage records may contain the following:


 * Date and place of marriage
 * Names of the bride and groom
 * Civil status (widowed, single, divorced) of bride and groom at the time of the event
 * Place of origin and residence of the bride and groom
 * Names of parents
 * Name of witnesses

Death records may contain the following:


 * 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
 * Occasionally, place of burial

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * The given name and surname of the person
 * The type of event
 * The estimated date of the event

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the :
 * 1) Select City or Municipality
 * 2) Select Record Type and Years to view the images.

Search the collection by image 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.

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
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth to find the family in 1930, Mexico National Census
 * 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

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?
Unable to find your ancestor? Try looking through records in the surrounding localities. Campeche is to the west, Yucatán to the northwest, and Belize to the south 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.
 * Consult the Mexico Record Finder to find other records 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. Click here for a list of Spanish name abbreviations

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.

"Mexico, Quintana Roo, Civil Registration, 1866-1902." Images. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : accessed 16 January 2018. Arquidiocesis de Yucatán, Mérida (Yucatán General Directorate Archives, Mérida).
 * Collection Citation:

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