Philippines, Civil Registration (Archives Division), 1902-1945

What is in This Collection?

The records in this collection include copies of birth, marriage, and death certificates from the Archives Division of the Bureau of Records Management. It includes many localities throughout the Philippines primarily from 1922 to 1932, but some beginning as early as 1902 and ending as late as 1945.

In 1889, the Spanish government created the Central Office of Statistics. This office required each parish priest to periodically give the government a list of the births, marriages, and deaths in his area. The Catholic clergy had previously maintained records about births, marriages and deaths, and sent copies to the government. After 1889, clergy were required to regularly submit detailed reports. This system continued until the end of the Spanish administration in 1898. After the Philippine Revolution of 1898, the church and state became separate. Within the first few years, officials responsible for civil registration were appointed in each municipality. In 1930, civil registration became mandatory. In 1932 the Bureau of Census and Statistics was created to oversee civil registration. Many civil records were destroyed during World War II.

Divorce is not legal in the Philippines, but some records of annulment and legal separation are kept in the National Census and Statistics Office and in the local Domestic Relations Court of First Instance.

Additional records and/or images may be added to this collection in the future.

Reading These Records

These records are in English and Spanish. For help reading any Spanish records see the following guides:

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

To Browse This Collection

What Can These Records Tell Me?

The following information may be found in these records:

Collection Content

Sample Images

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  1927 Marriage Part 1

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  1927 Marriage Part 2

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  1930 Death Registrations Part 1

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  1930 Death Registrations Part 2

Inventory

For a list of all the titles included in this Historical Records publication see Philippines, Civil Registration (Archives) - Inventory.