Nicaragua Civil Registration - FamilySearch Historical Records

This wiki article describes a collection that is scheduled to become available for free online at FamilySearch Record Search.

Foreign Language Title
Registro Civil del Departamento de Managua, Nicaragua

Collection Time Period
This collection of civil records from Managua, Nicaragua includes the years 1879 to 1994.

Record History
Before the government instituted civil registration in Nicaragua, the Catholic Church was the only institution tracking the births, marriages, and deaths events of the population. The first civil registration law was created on January 30, 1879 with the name of “Reglamento para el Registro del Estado Civil de las Personas” (Regulation for the Registration of the Civil Status of the People), which stated the general procedures of the institution. A civil registration office was established in each city, town, and villa of the country. The Mayor was assigned as the responsible party for the civil registration within his jurisdiction. He could name a custodian officer, who would be responsible in creating separate registers of births, marriages, deaths, and reasons for the civil status only within their jurisdiction. In 1899 this law was modified to include other civil registration events such as: the recognition of illegitimate children, emancipation and age majority declarations, divorces, annulments, absentee declarations, and others. The registers of the Catholic Church created before this law, were transferred to the municipality for control.

These civil records of the Department of Managua have been preserved relatively well. Some of the older registers may have some physical damage; however, in general they are still in good condition to extract genealogical information.

Civil registration is mandatory in Nicaragua; therefore most of the population has been registered. This collection only includes the civil registration records of the Department of Managua, which includes the municipalities (municipios) of San Francisco Libre, Ciudad Sandino, El Crucero, Tipitapa, Managua, San Rafael del Sur, Villa Carlos Fonseca, Mateare, and Ticuantepe.

Why This Collection Was Created
The civil registration in Nicaragua was created to record the events of birth, marriage, death, and other civil events, which would determine and prove the civil status, existence, and condition of the population.

Record Reliability
The civil registration records are the most reliable source for doing genealogical research in Nicaragua.

Record Description
These civil records include birth, marriages, and death from the Department of Managua, Nicaragua.

Record Content
The key genealogical facts found in most birth records are: 


 * Date and place of the event
 * Name of the principal
 * Gender of principal and date of birth
 * Legitimacy
 * Parents names, their residence and/or place of origin
 * Names of witnesse

The key genealogical facts found in most marriage records are: 


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

The key genealogical facts found in most death records are: 


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

How to Use the Record
The civil registration records in Nicaragua are an excellent source for genealogical research after 1879. Before this year, it is suggested to research in the Catholic Church parish records.

Related Websites
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Sources of This Collection
This is a collection of digital copies of original records housed at the Asociación de Municípios de Nicaragua (AMUN IC) and the Archivo del Registro Civil del Departamento de Managua, Managua, Nicaragua.

How to Cite Your Sources
Instructions for citing this source can be found at: Cite Your Sources (Source Footnotes)

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