Mexico, Oaxaca, Civil Registration - FamilySearch Historical Records

 Mexico Oaxaca

What is in the Collection?
This collection of civil records for Oaxaca covers the years of 1861 to 2002.

The civil registration records for Mexico cover the vital events of birth, marriages, and deaths, are organized by state and then by municipality/city. Earlier records were handwritten in narrative style; later records were handwritten in formatted registers. These records are written in Spanish. Here is a link to a Spanish Genealogical Word List which may be helpful. Also, see the section For Help Reading These Records for translation helps.

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, it is suggested to use church registers alongside the civil records to help in your research. 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 and are a reliable source to extract genealogical information.

Sample Images
Birth records usually contain the following information:


 * Date and place of the event
 * Name of the principal
 * Child’s gender
 * Child’s date of birth
 * Legitimacy
 * Parents' names, residence, and/or place of origin
 * Names of witnesses

Marriage records usually contain the following information:


 * Date and place of the event
 * Names of the bride and groom
 * Their civil statuses (widowed, single, divorced) at the time of the event
 * Places of origin and residence of the bride and groom
 * Names of parents
 * Name of witnesses

Death records usually contain the following information:


 * Place and date of the event
 * Place and date of death
 * Name of the deceased
 * Civil status of deceased at time of death
 * Civil status and name of spouse, if married at time of death
 * Parents’ names
 * Sometimes, place of burial

How Do I Search the Collection?
View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page  ⇒ Select the "District or Municipality" category ⇒ Select the "Record Type and Years" which takes you to 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.

For Help Reading These Records
These records are in Spanish. For help reading the records, see the following resources:


 * 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

I Can’t Find Who I’m Looking For, What Now?
If you have not been able to find your ancestor, try looking through records in the surrounding localities. Guerrero is to the west, Puebla to the northwest, Veracruz to the north, and Chiapas to the east.

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.

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