Mexico, Yucatán, Civil Registration - FamilySearch Historical Records

 Mexico Yucatán

What is in the Collection?
This collection of civil records for Yucatán covers the years 1860 to 2005.

This is a collection of civil registration records for 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 were handwritten in formatted registers. These records are written in Spanish.

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, they are generally 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.

The civil registration records of Mexico are a reliable source for doing genealogical research.

Collection Contents
Birth records may contain the following:


 * Date and place of birth
 * Child’s name and gender
 * Presenter's name, age, occupation and residence
 * Parents' names, their age, occupation and residence
 * Paternal and maternal grandparents names and their residence
 * Names of witnesses, their age, civil status, occupation and residence

Marriage records may contain the following:


 * Date and place of marriage
 * Names of the bride and groom
 * Groom's age, civil status, occupation, origin and residence
 * Groom's parents' names, their origin and residence
 * Bride's age, civil status, occupation, origin and residence
 * Bride's parents' names, their origin and residence
 * Names of witnesses
 * Witnesses' age, civil status, occupation, origin, and residence

Death records may contain the following:


 * Place and date of death
 * Name of the deceased
 * Civil status of principal 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?
To browse the collection by image: ⇒ Select the "Browse through images" link in the initial search page ⇒ Select the appropriate "City or Municipality" ⇒ Select the appropriate "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.

When searching: As you are searching it is helpful to know such information as your ancestor’s given name and surname, some identifying information such as residence and age, and family relationships. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as your ancestor and that your ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times.

The civil registration records in Mexico are an excellent source for genealogical research after 1867. Important genealogical data can be found in these records, which may also include data of other family members to fill in another generation group.

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

Surrounding Localities
Unable to find your ancestor? Try looking through records in the surrounding localities. Campeche is to the southwest, and Quintana Roo is along the southeast.

Related Websites
Yucatán Maps Yucatán History

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:

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