Reading Aid for Brazilian Death Certificates

Brazil Civil Registration: Death Certificate[edit | edit source]

Begin by studying the translations of the printed portions of a death certificate. Learn what information the different sections contain. Pay close attention to the location of the deceased's name and parents' names.

Key Words in a Death Certificate (Printed Form)[edit | edit source]

The highlighted words are clues to important information that follows. The color of the translation in the margin matches the color of the highlighted Portuguese term in the record. These tips should save you from the feeling you need to read every record completely word-for-word. Instead, you can look for key words that immediately precede key information.

Sometimes, the names of the deceased is listed in the margin, making it very efficient to scroll through the images until you find the desired entry.
If the names are not in the margin, skim down the page until you find the term"falleceu". This wil be followed by the name of the deceased.
Next, read a little further for the term "filho de" (son of) or "filha de" (daughter of) to verify the names pf the parents of the deceased.
If you have found the person you wanted, study the rest of the record. For translating dates, ages, resident addresses, occupations, color (race), relationships, or status terms, refer to the Portuguese Genealogical Word List.

Brazil Death Certificate

Key Words in a Death Certificate (Version Long-hand)[edit | edit source]

You can find the same key words, with some slight variations, in death certificates written out without the printed form.

Additional Help[edit | edit source]