Guatemala Civil Registration - FamilySearch Historical Records

Guatemala

What is in the Collection?
Guatemala established the civil registry on September 9, 1877, and set the regulations of the institution. The entire population must be registered at birth; there is a registration office in each municipality.

This collection of civil registration records from Guatemala covers the years 1877 to 2008 and includes birth, marriage, and death records.

Most of the records are in relatively good preservation. However, some of the older registers may have some physical damage, but in general they are in good condition for the extraction of genealogical information. Additional images will be published as they become available.

The civil registry registers all the principal events in the life of the people of Guatemala, from their birth to their death. A unique code is assigned to each citizen at the time of the birth registration. This code includes the department and municipality codes of the place where the person was born. These codes are determined by the board of directors of the National Registry of the People (RENAP – Registro Nacional de las Personas). RENAP is an institution under the Judicial Department, with the seat in Guatemala City.

The link to the Guatemala, Civil Registration, 1877-2008 collection covers all of Guatemala, but is not a complete collection. For a list of all the departments and cities contained in this collection, see the Provinces of Guatemala - Civil Registration coverage table.

Reading These Records
The first records were handwritten in narrative style. Later ones were created in formatted 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?
Birth Records may contain:


 * Date and place of the birth
 * Name of the child
 * Child’s gender
 * Child’s date of birth
 * Legitimacy
 * Parents' names, residence, or places of origin
 * Names of the witnesses

Marriage Records may contain:
 * Date and place of the event
 * Names of the bride and groom
 * Their civil status (widowed, single, divorced) at the time of the marriage
 * Birthplaces and residence of the bride and groom
 * Names of the parents
 * Names of the witnesses

Death Records may contain:


 * Place and date of death
 * Name of the deceased
 * Civil status of the deceased at the time of death
 * Civil status and the name of the spouse, if married at the time of death
 * Names of the parents
 * Sometimes the place of burial

What Can these Records Tell Me?
The following information is usually found in these records:

FamilySearch Historical Records Collections
Click on the name of the department in the list or the department itself (map) to see what civil records are available for that area.

How Do I Search the Collection?
You can search the index or view the images or both. Before using 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

Search the Index
Search by name by visiting the Collection Page.
 * 1) Fill in the search boxes on the Collection Page with the information you have.
 * 2) Click Search to show possible matches.

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page.
 * 1) Select Province
 * 2) Select City or Municipality
 * 3) Select Record type and year range to view the images.

For more tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

For Help Reading These Records
For help reading these Spanish records, see the following resources:
 * 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.

The civil registration records of Guatemala are an excellent source for genealogical research after 1877. If you're looking for an ancestor in Guatemala prior to 1877, try searching the collection Guatemala Catholic Church Records (FamilySearch Historical Records).

What Do I Do Next?

 * If possible, look at the actual image of the record to verify the information found in the online description.
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth to find the family in census records.
 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate other church and land records.
 * Use the parents' birth places to find former residences and to establish a migration pattern for the family.
 * 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. Repeat this process for each new generation you identify.

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

 * 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.
 * Civil registration records are also a good source of genealogical information. You should obtain copies of both church records and civil registration, when possible, since they do not necessarily provide the same information. For example, baptismal registers sometimes provide the names of the fathers of illegitimate children when the civil registration does not.
 * There may be more than one person with the same name.
 * You ancestor may be using a nickname or alias.
 * A boundary change could have occurred and the record of your ancestor is now in a neighboring area. Search the records and indexes of neighboring cities, provinces, and regions.
 * Your ancestor may have immigrated to another country. Search the records of nearby countries or immigration/emigration records.

It's possible that some images/records may be missing; check the section "Known Issues" below by clicking on the text in the right-hand box for ways to view missing images.

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection, please read the attached Wiki article. If you encounter additional problems, feel free to report them at [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.

Collection Citation:

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):

Image Citation: