Puerto Rico, Civil Registration - FamilySearch Historical Records

Puerto Rico



Title in the Language of the Records
Registro Civil y Demográfico de Puerto Rico

What is in the Collection?
This collection contains civil records from 1805 to 2001 from the 78 municipalities (municipios) in Puerto Rico.

The older records are handwritten in narrative style, and the newer ones are handwritten in formatted records.

Reading These Records
These records are written in Spanish; also see the section For Help Reading These Records for translation helps.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
Birth records usually contain the following information:


 * Date, time and place of birth
 * Child's name and gender
 * Legitimacy of child
 * Parents' names and age
 * Parents' marital status, occupation, residence, and origin
 * Names of paternal grandparents
 * Names of maternal grandparents
 * Date and place of registration

Marriage records may contain the following information:


 * Date and place of marriage
 * Name and age of groom
 * Groom's marital status, occupation, residence, and origin
 * Name and age of bride
 * Bride's marital status, occupation, residence, and origin
 * Names of parents
 * Name of person giving consent (usually bride's father)
 * Names of witnesses

Death records may contain the following information:


 * Name and age of deceased (keep in mind that death records for women may be filed under their married name)
 * Marital status, residence, and origin of deceased
 * Date and place of death
 * Date and place of medical certificate
 * Name of informant and their relationship to deceased
 * Informant's age, marital status, occupation, residence, and origin
 * Names of parents and their origin
 * Names of grandparents, if known
 * Date and place of burial

Collection Contents
The civil registration records in Puerto Rico are an excellent source for genealogical research after 1885. Important genealogical data can be found in these records; see below. The data may even help to find information about an earlier generation.

How Do I Search the Collection?
You can search the index or view the images or both. Before using this collection it is helpful to know:
 * Your ancestor's given name and surname
 * Identifying information such as residence
 * Estimated marriage or birth year
 * Family relationships

Search The Index
If the collection is not published: Search by name by visiting the Collection Page.
 * 1) Fill in the search boxes on the Collection Page with the information you have.
 * 2) Click Search to show possible matches.

View The Images
View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page.
 * 1) Select Municipality
 * 2) Select Record Type and Year Range to view the images.

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


 * Spanish Genealogical Word List
 * Reading Spanish handwritten records

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.

What Do I Do Next?
To learn more about using the information available in these records, view these lessons for free:
 * Documentos esenciales para buscar a sus antepasados - Spanish
 * Registros Civiles y Parroquiales - Spanish

I Found Who I Was Looking for, What Now?

 * Use the marriage date and place as the basis for compiling a new family group or for verifying existing information.
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth of each partner to find a couple's birth records and parents' names.
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth to find the family in census records Puerto Rico Census.
 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate church records Puerto Rico Catholic Church Records (FamilySearch Historical Records).
 * Use the parents' birth places to find former residences and to establish a migration pattern for the family.
 * Compile the marriage entries for every person who has the same surname as the bride or groom; this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual.
 * Use the marital status to identify previous marriages (whether a divorce or death dissolved a marriage).
 * Witnesses often were relatives of the parents.

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

 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * 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.
 * Continue to search the marriage records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives of the bride and groom who may have married in the same county or nearby. This can help you identify other generations of your family or even the second marriage of a parent. Repeat this process for each new generation you identify.
 * A boundary change could have occurred and the record of your ancestor is now in a neighboring state or region, or your ancestor immigrated to another country. Search the records of nearby areas or immigration/emigration records.
 * Church records are also a good substitute when birth, marriage, and death records can’t be found or are unavailable.
 * Puerto Rico Catholic Church Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached 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

 * Puerto Rico GenWeb
 * Puerto Rico Birth, Death, Marriage Certificates
 * Puerto Rican Hispanic Genealogical Society
 * PRROOTS.com – Hispanic Genealogical Society

Related Wiki Articles

 * Puerto Rico
 * Puerto Rico Civil Registration

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection citation:

Record citation (or citation for the index entry):

Image citation: