GuidedResearch:Why Can't I Find the Record - Costa Rica Births

This page will give you additional guidance and resources to find birth information for your ancestor. Use this page after first completing the birth section of the Costa Rica Guided Research page.

Additional Nationwide Databases and Online Resources

 * 1700-1915:  Costa Rica, Select Baptisms  at Ancestry ($) - incomplete
 * 1700-1915:  Costa Rica, Baptisms  at MyHeritage ($) - incomplete
 * 2011-2015:  Costa Rica, Birth Index  at MyHeritage ($) - incomplete

See the undefined for a comprehensive list of available online Catholic Church Records.

Additional Records with Birth Information
There are no substitute records available for Costa Rica.

Finding Town of Origin
Knowing an ancestor’s hometown can be important to locate more records. If a person immigrated to the United States, try Finding Town of Origin to find the ancestor’s hometown.

Virtual Genealogy Consultations
Schedule a free online consultation with a research specialist:

Ask the Community
Select a community research group where you can ask questions and receive free genealogy help.

Tips for finding births
Success with finding birth records in online databases depends on a few key points:
 * Your ancestor's name may misspelled. Try the following search tactics:
 * Try different spelling variations of the first and last name of your ancestor.
 * Use wild cards, if possible, to represent phonetic variants, especially for surname endings.


 * Your ancestor may have been indexed with only one surname. Try searching with only the paternal surname (the surname your ancestor inherited from their father). If you don’t find your ancestor, search with only the maternal surname (the surname your ancestor inherited from their mother).
 * Expand the date range of the search.
 * Try searching with the province name only instead of by the town.
 * If your ancestor's name is common, try adding more information to narrow the search.

Known Record Gaps
Records Start Records Destroyed
 * Civil registration of births, marriages, and deaths began in 1888.
 * Actual church and civil registration record availability varies by locality.
 * Floods and wars were the leading cause of destruction for church records. Civil registration records are generally complete, with few exceptions.