Dominican Republic Civil Registration - FamilySearch Historical Records

Dominican Republic



Title in the Language of the Records
República Dominicana, Registro Civil

What is in the Collection?
This collection will eventually include civil records from 1801 to 2006. The records include birth, marriage, and death certificates from various localities in the Dominican Republic and may include approximately 370,000 names.

The records are in Spanish; see the section "For Help Reading these Records" for access to translation helps.

The records are written both in narrative style and in formatted records. Some records appear damaged; however, genealogical information may still be extracted.

This is an ongoing active collection. Additional records may be added to this collection. Check the browse headers for the collection to determine current coverage. For a complete list of all the provinces contained in this collection, see the Provinces of the Dominican Republic - Civil Registration coverage table.

Sample Images
Birth records may contain the following information:


 * Name and gender of child
 * Date, place, and time of birth
 * Child’s legitimacy
 * Parents’ names and ages
 * Parents’ occupations and residence
 * Grandparents' names
 * Date, place, and time of registration
 * Registrant's occupation and residence

Marriage records usually contain the following information:


 * Date and place of marriage
 * Names and ages of groom and bride
 * Marital status of groom and bride
 * Legitimacy of groom and bride
 * Parents' names and ages
 * Groom's residence
 * Bride’s legitimacy
 * Date of betrothal promise
 * Witnesses’ names
 * Witnesses’ age, marital status, and occupation
 * Name of civil official and/or marriage officiator

Death records may contain the following information:


 * Name and age of deceased (keep in mind that death records for women may be filed under their married name)
 * Marital status/spouse's name of deceased
 * Date, place, and time of death
 * Cause of death
 * Date and place of birth
 * Parents of deceased
 * Parents' origin and residence
 * Witnesses' names
 * Informant's name and age
 * Date, place, and time of registration
 * Informant's marital status, occupation, origin, and residence

How Do I Search the Collection?
When searching: As you are searching, it is helpful to know such information as your ancestor's given name and surname, some identifying information such as residence, age, and family relationships. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as your ancestor and that your ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times.

Some record sets have indexes; these indexes were created at the end of the year. Copy errors could have been made in the index, so you want to find the actual record to verify the information is correct. Using the index is a helpful way to find the actual record.

See the sections below for tips and uses for searching and finding the record of your ancestor in this collection and using the information in the record.

If you are unable to find a record for your ancestor in this collection, see the corresponding section below.

To search this collection by name: Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the ancestors in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to find your ancestor.

To search the "Dominican Republic, Births, 1801-2006" collection by image, you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒ Select the "Browse" link in the initial search page ⇒ Select the "Province" ⇒ Select the "Locality" ⇒ Select the "Record Type and Years" which takes you to the images.

Search the collection images one by one, comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination.

For Help Reading These Records
These records are in Spanish. For help reading the records, see the following wiki articles:


 * Spanish Genealogical Word List
 * Reading Spanish handwritten records
 * Script tutorial for Spanish

What Do I Do Next?
To learn more about using the information in civil records, view this lesson for free: La Investigación Genealógica en República Dominicana - Spanish


 * Use the marriage date and place as the basis for compiling a new family group or for verifying existing information.
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth of each partner to find a couple's birth records and parents' names.
 * Use the parents' birth places to find former residences and to establish a migration pattern for the family.
 * The name of a marriage officiator is a clue to their religion or area of residence in the province. However, ministers may have reported marriages performed in other provinces.
 * Compile the marriage entries for every person who has the same surname as the bride or groom; this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual.
 * Use the marital status to identify previous marriages, that is, whether a divorce or death dissolved a previous marriage.
 * Witnesses often were relatives of the parents.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?
The birth of a child must be registered within 30 days of the birth. After that, it is considered a late registration and has penalties. Therefore, if parents knew they wouldn't meet the deadline, then to avoid the penalties, many children were not registered.

For death records, the information in records is usually reliable, but depends upon the knowledge of the informant.

For marriage and death records, your ancestors may have used shortened names or nicknames, so pay attention to other relationships (parents, spouse, siblings, children, etc.) that can confirm whether you have the right person/record.

When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.

Continue to search the marriage records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives of the bride and groom who may have married 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.

Continue to search the indexes and records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have lived in the same area or a nearby area.

I Can't Find Who I'm Looking For, What Now?
A boundary change could have occurred and the record of you ancestor is now in a neighboring state or region, or your ancestor immigrated to another country. Search the records of nearby areas or immigration/emigration records: Dominican Republic, Miscellaneous Records (FamilySearch Historical Records).

Church records are also a good substitute when birth, marriage, and death records can’t be found or are unavailable: Dominican Republic Catholic Church Records (FamilySearch Historical Records).

Related Websites
Archivo General de la Nación Website is in Spanish.

Related Wiki Articles

 * Dominican Republic Civil Registration
 * Online maps of the Dominican Republic
 * Online history of the Dominican Republic
 * Online genealogical resources for Dominican Republic research
 * Dominican Republic

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: