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Free Alabama genealogy records

Where to find free birth, death, marriage, census, probate, land and newspaper records for Alabama, and which offices hold what. Last checked Oct 2026.

Birth, death and marriage records

When statewide registration began: Statewide birth and death registration began in January 1908.

Birth and death certificates: the state office has them from January 1908.
Marriages: the state office has them from August 1936; for earlier marriages ask the probate judge of the county that issued the license.

Current office addresses, fees and eligibility rules are on the CDC "Where to Write for Vital Records" page for Alabama. Records that are too recent are usually restricted to close family. Older ones are often free to view as indexes or images on the free databases below.

Before statewide registration, some counties and larger cities kept their own registers. Church baptism and burial registers, family Bibles, obituaries and cemetery records fill the gaps.

Census records

Federal censuses from 1790 to 1950 are free to search on several sites. The 1950 census is free from the National Archives' 1950 Census site, and NARA's census research pages explain each year.
Almost all of the 1890 federal census was destroyed after a 1921 fire, so families can "disappear" between 1880 and 1900.
Ask the state archives whether any state or territorial census schedules survive for Alabama.
Census records only exist for years after statehood or territorial organization.

Probate and land records

Probate: County probate courts handle wills and estates, and in Alabama they also kept marriage records and many deeds. Older probate files are often transferred to the state archives.
First land transfers: Alabama is a federal public-land state. The original federal land patents (homesteads, cash sales, military warrants) are free to search on the BLM General Land Office Records site. Homestead case files themselves are at the National Archives.
Later deeds: once land was in private hands, every sale was recorded locally by the county.

Historic newspapers

Chronicling America: Alabama newspapers is the Library of Congress's free archive of digitized historic newspapers, filtered to this state.
University of Alabama is Alabama's partner in the National Digital Newspaper Program, which digitizes the state's papers for Chronicling America.
Obituaries are the best newspaper find for genealogy. If your family's paper isn't digitized, the local public library or historical society may have it on microfilm.

Archives, libraries and societies

Alabama Department of Archives and History: the state's official archives, with older government records such as court, land, military and often vital records.

Tips for the local level

Find which county your ancestor's town was in at the time. County lines moved as new counties were created, and records stay with the county that created them.
Call or email before visiting. Many courthouses have moved older books to the state archives or a county records center.
Look for the local genealogical society and the county page of the free, volunteer-run USGenWeb Project, which often have transcriptions and cemetery lists.

Big free (and freemium) databases

FamilySearch Research Wiki: Alabama: a free, volunteer-edited guide to Alabama record types, useful for double-checking anything on this page.
FamilySearch: a free nonprofit genealogy site with indexed records and digitized microfilm. You need a free account to search.
Find a Grave: free, volunteer-built cemetery listings, often with headstone photos.
BillionGraves: free headstone photos tagged with GPS locations.
National Archives genealogy pages: guides to federal census, military, immigration and land records.
Ancestry: a large subscription site. Some indexes are free with a free account, and many public libraries offer free in-library access.

Sources

Last checked Oct 2026. Offices, fees and web addresses change. If something here is wrong, the official office is always right.

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