Portugal, Civil Records, 1437-2023
Birth, marriage, and death records. Some of these records have been indexed. Additional indexed records will be published as they become available.
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Portugal, Civil Records
Source: https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Portugal,_Civil_Records_-_FamilySearch_Historical_Records
What is in This Collection?
This collection contains index & images to births, marriages, and deaths for Portugal. Civil Registration in Portugal began in 1832, but did not achieve wide-spread compliance until the 1870s. Despite the title of this collection, overwhelmingly most of the records selected for inclusion are from churches which predate the beginning of civil registration. This collection also includes records from schools, notaries, military service, and orphanages.
Most church records in this collection begin in the 1680s, with some dating from earlier years. Most of the parish records prior to the 1800s have substantial gaps in their coverage. Generally, the church records in this collection end in 1911.
Additional records and/or images may be added to this collection in the future.
Computer Aided Indexing (CAI)
Some or all of the indexed records for this collection were created using Computer Aided Indexing (CAI) from records digitized by FamilySearch or its partners. For more information on CAI see FamilySearch Computer Aided Indexing.
Reading These Records
These records are written in Portuguese. For help reading them see:- Portuguese Genealogical Word List
- Portuguese Letter-writing Guide
- Brigham Young University: Portuguese Script Tutorial
What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:
Birth (Nascimentos)
- Child's name
- Place and date of birth
- Parents' names
- Place and date of registration
- Informant's name, age and residence
Legitimation (Legitimações)
- Name of child
- Date of birth
- Place of birth
- Date of parent's marriage
- Date of legitimization
- Date of court-ordered legitimization
Marriage (Matrimônios, Casamentos)
- Names of bride and groom
- Ages of bride and groom
- Birthplaces of bride and groom
- Residence of bride and groom
- Names of parents
- Place and date of registration
Death (Obitos)
- Name of the deceased
- Place and date of death
- Cause of death
- Age
- Marital status
- If married, spouse's name
- Residence
- Place of burial
- Parents’ names
Collection Content
Sample Images
Birth, Faro 1913
Marriage, 1915 Marriage
Legitimation, 1879
Collection Details
Language
Portugal
Location of Original Records
Multiple civil registration offices
"Portugal, Registro Civil, 1437-2023", Database. FamilySearch. https://familysearch.org : 18 October 2025.
