Home › State guides › District of Columbia
Free District of Columbia genealogy records
Where to find free birth, death, marriage, census, probate, land and newspaper records for District of Columbia, and which offices hold what. Last checked Oct 2026.
Birth, death and marriage records
When statewide registration began: The District's records start with deaths in 1855 (none were filed during the Civil War) and births in 1874.
- Births: DC Health has them from 1874.
- Deaths: from 1855, with none filed during the Civil War.
- Marriages: the DC Superior Court Marriage Bureau.
Current office addresses, fees and eligibility rules are on the CDC "Where to Write for Vital Records" page for District of Columbia. 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 civil registration, church registers and cemetery records are the main substitutes.
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 District of Columbia.
- Census records only exist for years after statehood or territorial organization.
Probate and land records
- Probate: The Probate Division of the DC Superior Court (Register of Wills). Deeds are at the DC Recorder of Deeds. Older probate files are often transferred to the state archives.
- Land: District of Columbia is a state-land state, so there are no federal land-entry files for most of it. Original grants came from the colony, state or earlier governments; look for them at the state archives or land office. Later deeds are recorded at the DC Recorder of Deeds.
Historic newspapers
- Chronicling America: District of Columbia newspapers is the Library of Congress's free archive of digitized historic newspapers, filtered to this state.
- 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
- DC Office of Public Records and Archives: the state's official archives, with older government records such as court, land, military and often vital records.
- DC Public Library, Research & Learn: state library with genealogy and local-history collections.
- DC History Center: historical society or research library with manuscripts, photographs and local histories.
Tips for the local level
- DC is a single jurisdiction, so the citywide offices hold the records.
- 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.
- DC has no counties: one set of offices covers the whole District. Before 1871, Georgetown and Washington County kept some records separately.
- Many DC families crossed into Maryland and Virginia, so search the neighboring counties too.
Big free (and freemium) databases
- FamilySearch Research Wiki: District of Columbia: a free, volunteer-edited guide to District of Columbia 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.
New-records alerts coming soon.
We're working on a free alert that tells you when new free records turn up for the states you research. There's nothing to sign up for yet.