Costa Rica Civil Registration

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Resources[edit | edit source]

Online Resources[edit | edit source]

Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones de Costa Rica (Supreme Electoral Court of Costa Rica)
Civil Registry Archive, includes births, marriages, and deaths

Births (nacimientos)

Marriages (matrimonios, casamientos)

Deaths (defunciones)

Offices to Contact[edit | edit source]

Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones de Costa Rica (Supreme Electoral Court of Costa Rica)
Civil Registry Archive
Laura Quesada Ramirez, Head
Telephone: +506-2287-5652
Website Email: lquesadar@tse.go.cr

Background[edit | edit source]

Civil registration of births, marriages, and deaths began in 1888.[1]

Coverage and Compliance[edit | edit source]

Information Recorded in the Records[edit | edit source]

Websites[edit | edit source]

Costa Rica Index of Births, Marriages and Deaths from the late 1800s to 2000s. http://servicioselectorales.tse.go.cr/chc/ To search the website, follow these steps.[edit | edit source]

  1. Click on the option Consulta por nombre y apellidos.
  2. Enter the first name in the Nombre field.
  3. Enter the paternal surname in the 1er Apellido field.
  4. If known, enter the maternal surname in the 2do Apellido field.
  5. You can limit the date range searched by entering dates in the fields Desde (from) and hasta (until)
  6. Click on Consultar.
  7. If there are any matching results, you should now see a list. In the small check box to the left of the name, check all the entries you would like to view then click on Realizar Consulta.
  8. You will now see your first result. To view subsequent results click on the word Siguiente located below the words DETALLE DEL NACIMIENTO PARA ESTA PERSONA

On the detailed results page for each person you can do the following:

  • By clicking on Hijos Registrados you can see if there are children registered to the principal person in the record you are viewing.
  • By clicking on Matrimonios Registrados you can see if there are any marriages registered to the principal person in the record you are viewing. Some marriages recorded before 1960 are not available for viewing online. The search for marital status is only valid for persons born after 1950.
  • By clicking on Lugar de Votación you can see the voting place of the principal person in the record you are viewing.

Other searches[edit | edit source]

Consulta de matrimonios and Consulta de defunciones do not provide complete details of the event. You will have to follow the instructions indicated in order to receive a copy of the certificate. These are in Spanish. Use Google Translate or have your browser translate the page if you do not understand Spanish.

References[edit | edit source]

  1. Ryskamp, George. Finding Your Hispanic Roots. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1997.