Chile Civil Registration - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language of the Record
Registros Civiles de Chile

Record Description
These records are in Spanish. This collection includes records from 1885 to 1903.

This is a collection of births, marriages, and deaths for various localities in Chile. For a complete list of all the provincias and comunas included in this collection, see the Provinces of Chile - Civil Registration coverage table.

These records are organized by province, according to the jurisdictions in place at the time of the creation of the records.

The Related Websites header below includes some links to some old jurisdictions.

Beginning and ending dates vary for each locality. The majority of the records have been well-preserved. Some may be faded but are still readable if the image is enlarged. Some earlier records were handwritten in narrative style; however, the majority of the records were handwritten in formatted registers with a similar style as to a ledger. Only records from a few localities have been indexed. Use the browse link to view all the images published to date. More records and images will be added in the future.

The law over civil registration in Chile was enacted in July of 1884. The office of a civil registrar, whose responsibility to keep and duplicate the registers of birth, marriage, and death was then created. These registers keep all the fundamental information for these events, which relate to the legal make up of the family. The greatest purposes of the state are to legally organize the family, preserve the identity of individuals, and provide secure citizenship.

The civil registration is a public service under the supervision of the Justice Department, responsible to superintend the legal constitution of the family. Through civil registration, it is possible to exercise the people’s rights related to civil status, identity, real estate, and other specific acts guarded by the law.

The civil records of birth, marriage, and death in Chile are absolutely reliable for obtaining important genealogical data of ancestors.

For a list of records by date or locality currently published in this collection, select the Browse link from the collection landing page.

Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the information published in FamilySearch.org Historical Records collections. Sources include the author, custodian, publisher, and archive for the original records.

Original records are also housed at the following local Civil Registry Offices:


 * Lota (Concepción). Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación. Registros Civiles, 1889-1901.
 * Santa Juana (Concepción). Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación. Registros Civiles, 1885-1903.

Suggested citation format for a record in this collection.

Record Content
Birth records usually contain the following information:


 * Date of the registration
 * Name of the deceased
 * Gender, age, nationality, occupation and marital status of deceeased
 * Date, place and time of death
 * Cause of death
 * Burial place
 * Name of the registrant
 * Registrant’s age, occupation, and residence

How to Use the Record
To search this collection using the index:

Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the ancestors in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to find your ancestor.

Be aware there may be inaccuracies such as altered spellings, misinterpretations, and optical character recognition errors if the information was scanned.

To browse this collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒ Select the "Browse" link in the initial search page ⇒ Select the "Province" ⇒ Select the "Municipality" ⇒ Select the "Record Type and Years" which takes you to the images.

Look at the images one by one 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.

Civil records are important documents for genealogical research after 1884. One can also find additional information of related ancestors to further their genealogical research.

In order to find an entry in these records, it is necessary to know the name of an ancestor, a date of an event (birth, marriage or death), and a place where the ancestor lived.

Indexes are available on some of these groups of images. If indexes are available, check these for the name first. Indexes are usually located at the beginning of a group of images or at the end. Find your ancestors name and look for the locator information next to the name (such as page, entry, or certificate number. Frequently, these indexes are arranged by the given name of the individual and sometimes use the Latin form of the name. Those volumes without indexes need to be searched chronologically for the individuals sought. This will help you find the record you are looking for in the collection.

When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information about other people listed in the record. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors.

For example:


 * Use the birth date and place to find the family in census records.
 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate civil and land records.
 * The father’s occupation can lead you to other types of records such as employment or military records.
 * The parents' origin places can tell you former residences and can help to establish a migration pattern for the family.
 * Marriage date and place may help find their children
 * Burial place may also help to know of their migration patterns

It is often helpful to extract the information on all children with the same parents. If the surname is unusual, you may want to compile baptism entries for every person of the same surname and sort them into families based on the names of the parents. Continue to search the records to identify siblings, parents, and other relatives in the same or other generations who were born, married, and died in the same place or nearby.

Keep in mind:


 * The information in civil records is usually reliable, but depends upon the reliability of the informant.
 * Earlier records may not contain as much information as the records created after the late 1800s.
 * There is also some variation in the information given from record to record.

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


 * Spanish Genealogical Word List
 * Chile Language and Languages

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

 * Chile, National Archives
 * SciELO-Historia (Santiago): 41 n.2, julio-diciembre 2008: 447-493. ISSN 0073-2435. División político-administrativa de Chile, 1786-1826
 * Wikipedia - Historia de la organización territorial de Chile
 * Table of administrative divisions for Chile

Related Wiki Articles

 * Chile
 * Chile Civil Registration

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records.

A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the wiki article Help:How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.

Citation Examples for a Record Found in this Collection
“Argentina, Buenos Aires, Catholic Church Records, 1635-1981,” digital images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org: accessed 28 February, 2012), La Plata &gt; San Ponciano &gt; Matrimonios 1884-1886 &gt; image 71 of 389 images, Artemio Avendano and Clemtina Peralta, 1884; citing Parroquia de San Ponciano en la Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Matrimonios. Various dioceses throughout Buenos Aires.