El Salvador Civil Registrations

1. Birth Records 1879 to the present.
The birth records contain the following information:


 * Names and surnames
 * Date and place of birth
 * Parent's names and surnames
 * Parent's age and place or origin
 * Nationality
 * Date of inscription

Notes on the birth records


 * The original birth records are maintained in each municipality of the country.


 * Most birth records are well preserved. But a few are in poor shape to no longer in existence. Be sure to also check the Catholic Church as they kept birth records.


 * Check for indexes to the Birth records. For example: San Salvador has indexes of their birth records beginning 1879


 * The births are divided into six classes:
 * 1) natural
 * 2) legitimate
 * 3) illegitimate
 * 4) children of minors
 * 5) children of foreigners
 * 6) children of Salvadorians born abroad

2. Marriage Records 1879 to the present.
The marriage records contain the following information:


 * Date and place marriage occurred
 * Names and surnames of the spouses
 * Nationalities
 * Ages, origins and occupations or professions
 * Parent's place of residency

Notes on marriage records


 * The original marriage records are maintained in each municipality of the country.


 * Most marriage records are well preserved. But a few are in poor shape to no longer in existence. Be sure to also check the Catholic Church as they kept marriage records.


 * Check for indexes to the marriage records.

3. Divorce Records.

 * Names and surnames
 * Dates, relationships and proceedings of the court or church
 * Sometimes information relating to the birth or marriage.

Notes on divorce records


 * The original divorce records are maintained in each municipality of the country.


 * Most divorce records are well preserved. But a few are in poor shape to no longer in existence. The General Central American Archives (AGC) in Guatemala City, Guatemala, has some divorce record from 1603 through 1895, gaveta 4-8.


 * Check for indexes to the Birth records.

4. Death Records 1879 to the present.
The death records contain the following information:


 * Date of inscription
 * Names, surnames, relationship, age, civil status, profession, nationality and residency of informant
 * Names, surnames, civil status, date of death, age, gender, cause of death, profession, nationality of the deceased.

Notes on death records


 * The original death records are maintained in each municipality of the country.


 * Most death records are well preserved. But a few are in poor shape to no longer in existence. Be sure to also check the Catholic Church as they kept death records.


 * Check for indexes to the death records.

5. Adoption Records 1879 to the present
The adoption records contain the following information:


 * Names and surnames of the children and the parents
 * Court proceedings
 * Ages, dates and gender.

Notes on the adoption records


 * The original adoption records are maintained in each municipality of the country.


 * Most adoption records are well preserved. But a few are in poor shape to no longer in existence.

Extract Forms
The following extract forms were created by Dr. George Ryskamp, JD, AG. These particular forms are designed to be used for Spanish research; however, they can help in other research areas, such as Italy, France, Portugal, etc. Click on the type of record form you would like to use and print it for your own files.

[[Media:Baptism_template.pdf|Birth/Baptism Extract Form]]

[[Media:Marriage_Template.pdf|Marriage Extract Form]]

[[Media:Death_Template.pdf|Death/Burial Extract Form]]

These forms are designed to help you quickly analyze and organize your documents. They can become a personal index for your family records.

FamilySearch Resources
A wiki article describing this collection is found at:

El Salvador Civil Registration (FamilySearch Historical Records)