Guatemala Genealogy

Guide to Guatemala ancestry, family history, and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.

Country Information
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador. It was formerly a colony of Spain. The official language is Spanish.

Guatemala Clickable Map
Genealogy records are kept on the local level in Guatemala. Click on a department in the map for instructions and links to records for the department. By hovering over the number, you can verify the name of the department.

Jurisdictions
Genealogy records are kept on the local level in Guatemala. Click on a place below to go to the corresponding Wiki article listing more information.

Departments
The largest jurisdictions in Guatemala are called 'Departments' (departamentos). These are analogous to States or Provinces in other countries. There are 22 Departments of Guatemala.

Parishes
Parishes in Guatemala

FamilySearch Resources
Below are FamilySearch resources that can assist you in resourcing your family.
 * Facebook Communities - Facebook groups discussing genealogy research
 * Historical Records
 * Family History Center locator map

Research Tutorials

 * Search page
 * Introduction to Hispanic Research
 * U.S. Hispanic Immigration
 * U.S. Hispanic Immigrants: Finding their Place of Origin
 * Improve your Search Results in FamilySearch Hispanic Records
 * Reading Spanish Handwritten Records:
 * Lesson 1: The Spanish Alphabet
 * Lesson 2: Words and Dates
 * Lesson 3: Reading Spanish Records
 * Hispanic Online Resources