TN 31 (08-05)

A. Introduction

Except in the State of Aguascalientes, the State Archives and local civil registries for the capital cities are separate offices.

State Archives certificates are issued in the city in which the State Archives is located. For instance, a document issued by the “Oficial del Registro Civil, Villa de Ramos, S.L.P.,” was issued by a local civil registrar.

The format of the certificates issued by State Archives and the titles of the officials issuing the certificates vary from State to State and often between administrations.

GN 00312.258 lists the names and addresses of the State Archives in each State in Mexico.

B. Description of Certifications

1. State Archives Certifications

Generally, State Archives certifications may be identified by the:

• Seal which shows “Archivo General,” “Archivo de Gobierno,” “Archivo General de Gobierno,” or some variation of this. Certificates issued in the late 1980s may show only the name of the State (not the city) on the seal; and

• Title of the issuing official which can be director, judge, or secretary of that office. Certificates issued by Federal District will show “Jefe de la Oficina del Registro Civil del Distrito Federal.” Certificates issued in the late 1980s may show “El Jefe del Registro Civil.”

2. State-Level Cerificate

In some instances, a State-level certificate shows it was based on a duplicate book for a given locality. This may be shown:

• In a paragraph at the top of the certificate with the body of the certificate being a copy of the actual register entry, or

• As part of an introduction to the extract of information from the register.

C. Examples

The following are examples of variances in the formats and titles used by State Archives' officials.

• The old seal of the State Archives in Guadalajara showed “Archivo General de Gobierno — Jalisco” and the current one shows
  “Direccion del Archivo del Registro Civil —Jalisco.”

• Certificates from the State Archives in Guanajuato have two seals: one showing “Secretaria Gral. del Estado —Guanajuato, Gto.” and the other showing “Jefatura del Registro Civil — Guanajuato, Gto.”

• Certificates from the State Archives in Merida, Yucatan differ from local ones only by the stamp at the left margin of the State Archives certification which reads “This is an exact copy of the original found in the archives of Merida, Yucatan.”