Mexico, Tamaulipas, Civil Registration - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in the Collection?
This collection of civil records for Tamaulipas covers the years 1800 to 2002.

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.

Sample Images
Birth records usually contain the following:


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

Marriage records usually contain the following:


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

Death records usually contain the following:


 * Name and age of deceased
 * Date and place of death
 * Cause of death
 * Birth date and place of deceased
 * Nationality and residence of deceased
 * Parents' names of deceased
 * Spouse's name, if married
 * Declarant's name, age, occupation, nationality and residence
 * Declarant;s relationship to deceased
 * Names of witnesses
 * Witnesses' age, nationality, residence and relationship to deceased
 * Sometimes, burial information

How Do I Search the Collection?
View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page  ⇒  Select the "City or Municipality" ⇒ 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.

What Do I Do Next?
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. Nuevo León is to the west, Texas to the north, Veracruz to the south, and San Luis Potosí to the southwest.

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.

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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