El Salvador Quick Start Guide

Information about Records

All Records in El Salvador are in Spanish. If you are not familiar with Spanish, you should find someone who is. Another possibility is to use Internet translators, but they are difficult to get a good translation.
Most Records in El Salvador are written long hand. If you are not familiar with reading Spanish handwriting, click Here
Not all Records from El Salvador are online. To find the online El Salvador records, click Here
Not all the online Records from El Salvador are indexed. To find the online indexed El Salvador records, click Here
To find all El Salvador records on microfilm or microfiche, click Here

Knowing the location where your ancestor lived is key to finding records in El Salvador.
Begin your search where you live.
- Search for family records you might already have, such as deeds, marriage licenses, birth certificates, journals, etc.
- Ask family members about your ancestor - cousins, aunts, uncles, parents, grandparents, etc.
- Search records of immigration into the Unites States to learn where your ancestors came from and when they arrived.
Continue your search in El Salvador
- Search for where your ancestor lived in El Salvador.
- Search records of emigration from El Salvador to learn where they left from and when.

Search the online indexed records.
- Limit your search by country of El Salvador, this will eliminate similar records from other countries.
- Do not assume the results show your ancestor, check it out carefully. A result should substantially match the information you already know to be correct, to be considered your ancestor.
- Try a variety of searches with the ancestor's name, with or without parents' names, or just the parents' names.
- Search for Death records, then Marriage records and then Birth records. These records might lead to the names of their parents.
The most important of the online indexed records are the El Salvador Civil Registration. Only a few parts are non-indexed.

Manually search the non-indexed records.
- They must be searched image by image, unless you can identify the locality or the time period to narrow down the search.
- Some of these records were indexed in El Salvador. Look for that index first and save yourself time and effort.
Manually search the Image Only Historical Records. The most important of these records are the El Salvador Catholic Church Records They cover a large number of people over a long period of time. Click on the "Browse through ... images" near the bottom.
If you believe the index missed the record for your ancestor, then Manually search the Indexed Historical Records. The most important of these records are the El Salvador Civil Registration Records Click on the "Browse through ... images" near the bottom.
Manually search the records in the Family Search Catalog for El Salvador. Most of these records are only on microfilm or microfiche.

The best advise in searching El Salvador records. Identifies the best records to examine for various types of information wanted.
The Spanish Script Tutorial Explains how to read Spanish handwriting, in three lessons.
Spanish Genealogy Word List Gives many of the Spanish words used in records and their English meaning.
El Salvador Finding Records Explains how to record Municipality and Catholic Church locations. Also what records are found on Family Search online.