Mexico, Yucatán, Civil Registration - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This 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.

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.

Reading These Records
These records are written in Spanish; also see the section For Help Reading These Records for translation helps.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:

Birth records
 * 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
 * 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
 * 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 This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * Your ancestor's given name and surname
 * Identifying information such as residence
 * Estimated marriage or birth year
 * Family relationships

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the 


 * 1) Select City or Municipality
 * 2) Select Record Type and Years to view the images.

For Help Reading These Records
For help reading these Spanish 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

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Add any new information to your records
 * Use the information to find more. For instance, use the age listed in the record to estimate a year of birth, if that is yet undetermined
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth to find the family in 1930, Mexico National Census
 * Compile information for every person who has the same surname as your ancestor; this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual
 * Continue to search the records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives in the same county or nearby. This can help you identify other generations of your family or even the second marriage of a parent
 * Make sure to fully transcribe and cite the record entry for future reference; see the section Citing this Collection for assistance. Save or print a copy of the image

I Can’t Find The Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * Consult the Mexico Record Finder to find other records
 * Mexico, Yucatán, Catholic Church Records (FamilySearch Historical Records) are also a good substitute when civil records of births, marriages, and deaths cannot be found or are unavailable
 * Check for variants of given names, surnames, and place names. Transcription errors could occur in any handwritten record; also, it was not uncommon for an individual be listed under a nickname or an abbreviation of their name
 * A boundary change could have occurred, and the record of you ancestor is now in a neighboring province. Search the records and indexes of neighboring cities, provinces, and regions
 * Also, consider looking at collections for surrounding localities. Campeche is to the southwest, and Quintana Roo is along the southeast

New information is constantly being indexed, microfilmed or updated. Periodically check back to see if your ancestor’s records have been added. You can see if the area you’ve been looking in has been recently updated by going to Historical Records Collections. Watch for an asterisk for recently added or updated records.

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.

"Mexico, Yucatán, Civil Registration, 1860-2005." Database and images. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : accessed 17 January. Archivo General del Registro Civil del Estado de Yucatán (Yucatán Civil Registry State Archives).
 * Collection Citation:

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