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Guatemala established civil registration in 1877, requiring municipalities to record births, marriages, and deaths separately from the Catholic Church. These records, maintained by the Registro Nacional de las Personas (RENAP) and local civil offices, typically include names, parentage, age, and residence—valuable details for tracing family lines.
Earlier records may be incomplete due to conflict or administrative challenges, but some historical collections have been preserved in regional archives or digitized. Pre-1877 church registers remain indispensable. For genealogists, Guatemalan civil registration provides a vital link between the colonial and modern eras, documenting families across times of migration, political change, and social transformation.
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Birth, Marriage & Death
Civil Registrations
- Guatemala, Civil Registration, 1877-2008 643,866 records
