Guatemala Civil Registration

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Civil registration is the records of births, marriages, and deaths that are kept by the government, rather than by a church.

Civil registration of births, marriages, and deaths began in 1877.

What Can these Records Tell Me?[edit | edit source]

The following information is usually found in these records:

Birth records	Marriage records	Death records
Date and place of birth	Date and place of the marriage	Date and place of death
Name of the child	Name of the bride and groom	Name and age of deceased
Child’s gender	Their civil status at the time of marriage	Civil status at the time of death
Legitimacy	Bride and groom’s birth place and current residence	Civil status and name of spouse if married
Parents’ names, residence, or places of origin	Names of witnesses	Names of parents
Names of witnesses		Sometimes the place of burial

To effectively use civil records, follow these steps:

Search for the relative or ancestor you have selected. When you find the person’s birth record, search for the births of his or her brothers and sisters.
Search for the marriage of his or her parents. The marriage record will often give you information that leads to the parents’ birth record.
Estimate the parents’ age and search for their birth records.
Repeat the process for both the father and mother.
If earlier generations are not in the record, search neighboring municipios.
Search the death records for all family members.

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