FamilySearch Adds 18 Million New Records

FamilySearch released a major update on November 3, 2025, adding more than 18 million indexed records across ten countries. This update is especially helpful for anyone tracing roots in Italy, the Caribbean, the Congo, and several U.S. counties, and it opens new doors for finding civil, church, and identity records that were previously difficult to access.

Written by Glenn Henskens

A Global Overview of the November 2025 Update

The update represents one of FamilySearch’s largest monthly releases of 2025, with expansions across Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific.

Italy Leads the Way

Italy received the biggest boost with roughly 12 million newly indexed civil and church registers. Provinces such as Parma, Reggio Calabria, Teramo, Napoli, Palermo and Verona saw substantial additions. For example:

  • Parma: civil records from 1626 to 1921 (~2.24 million entries)
  • Reggio Calabria: records from 1784 to 1943 (~1.93 million)
  • Teramo: records from 1809 to 1936 (~1.19 million)

These new indexes significantly improve coverage for 19th and early 20th century Italian families.

Caribbean and Latin America

The Dominican Republic saw an enormous expansion with 8.2 million indexed civil registration records from 1744 to 2019. Meanwhile, Honduras gained more than 608,000 indexed civil registration entries from 1841 to 1968. These updates fill long-standing gaps for Caribbean and Central American researchers.

Africa

A major highlight is the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where 2.05 million national identity card records (1884 to 2019) were added. These cards often contain addresses, occupations and names of relatives, making them uniquely rich sources for modern and colonial era African genealogy.

Asia and the Pacific

The Philippines gained roughly 1.52 million indexed civil registration records covering 1945 to 1996. In the Pacific, French Polynesia added about 144,925 civil registration entries spanning more than two centuries of history.

United States Local Expansions

Several local U.S. collections were strengthened, including:

  • Southeast Idaho obituaries (~66,000 entries)
  • Illinois naturalizations (~9,500)
  • Indiana marriages (~16,000)
  • Early Maine vital records (~275)

While smaller in volume, these hyper-local collections often supply missing pieces that do not appear in nationwide indexes.

Ready to Explore These New Records?

If these regions overlap with your family history, now is the perfect moment to revisit your brick walls and broaden your search. Visit FamilySearch to explore the full November update and discover what new clues are waiting for you.