Using the National Archives (NARA) for Family History Research

The National Archives and Records Administration holds more than 13 billion pages of textual records, 44 million photographs, and millions of maps, films, and sound recordings — the raw material of American history at a scale that is genuinely difficult to picture. For family historians, this repository is not a backup option or a last resort. It is often the only place certain records exist. This page covers what NARA holds that matters most for genealogical research, how to access those materials, and how to decide which record sets to pursue first.

Definition and scope

NARA is the independent federal agency responsible for preserving and providing access to the permanently valuable records of the United States government (National Archives and Records Administration). Its holdings span records created by all three branches of the federal government, from the founding of the republic forward.

For family historians, the practical scope breaks into two major categories:

Records created about individuals as they interacted with the federal government — military service records, pension files, naturalization records, passport applications, and land entry case files. These are transactional documents, created because a specific person did something specific.

Records that capture populations at scale — the federal population censuses, mortality schedules, agricultural schedules, and similar enumerations. These are surveys, not transactions, and they document people who might otherwise have left almost no federal paper trail.

The distinction matters because it shapes how researchers search. A pension file for a Civil War veteran, for example, can run to dozens of pages and include the veteran's own sworn testimony about his service, his wife's name and age, children's names, and the county where he was born. A census entry, by contrast, gives a snapshot — useful for placing a family in time and geography, but thin on personal narrative. Both are held by NARA, and the primary vs. secondary sources distinction applies directly to how much weight each deserves.

NARA's physical facilities are distributed across 13 regional archives, plus the main research facilities in Washington D.C. and College Park, Maryland. Records are not all in one place, and the regional structure is deliberate — many federal court records, for instance, are held at the regional facility closest to where that court operated.

How it works

Accessing NARA records follows three main paths, and choosing correctly saves substantial time.

1. Online access through the National Archives Catalog — NARA's online catalog (catalog.archives.gov) contains digitized versions of high-demand genealogical records, including the 1940 census (fully indexed), WWI draft registration cards, and a growing collection of military service records. Searches are free; no account is required to browse, though a free account allows saving searches and contributing transcriptions.

2. Ordering copies by mail or online request — Records that are not digitized can be requested through NARA's Order Online system (eVetRecs for military records at archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records). Standard requests for military records are free for veterans and their next of kin.

3. In-person research at a NARA facility — Some records require physical visits, either because they are fragile originals or because they have not yet been digitized. Researchers can access most textual records in person at no charge, though advance registration is required at most facilities.

FamilySearch has partnered with NARA to digitize specific record groups, so it is worth checking familysearch.org before assuming a record requires a physical visit — the FamilySearch guide at FamilySearch Guide explains how that platform's NARA partnerships work in practice.

Common scenarios

Military service and pension records — These are among the most narrative-rich records NARA holds. A pension application filed by a widow after the Civil War might describe the soldier's wounds, his occupation before the war, the names of neighbors who witnessed the marriage, and the town of origin in Europe if he was an immigrant. For military records genealogy, NARA's National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis holds 20th-century military records, while older records are in Washington D.C.

Immigration and naturalization — Declaration of intention and petition for naturalization records, held by NARA regional facilities and indexed through partner databases, often include birthplace, birth date, physical description, and the name of the ship that carried the immigrant. These connect directly to immigration and naturalization records research more broadly.

Land records — Federal land entry case files document the transfer of public land to private individuals under programs like the Homestead Act of 1862. A complete Homestead case file typically includes proof-of-residence affidavits that can name neighbors and confirm a homesteader's family composition. Land and property records from the public land states are particularly well represented at NARA.

Census records — The US census records held by NARA cover 1790 through 1950, with the 1950 census released in 2022 under the 72-year rule. Each decennial census asked different questions, so the information available varies significantly by year.

Decision boundaries

NARA is the right starting point when the ancestor in question had a documented relationship with the federal government — served in the military, filed for a land patent, naturalized as a citizen, applied for a passport, or appears in a federal census.

State archives and local repositories (state archives genealogy) become the better choice when the records needed are inherently local: birth, marriage, and death certificates issued by states; county court records; church registers; probate files. The general rule holds that federal records document federal interactions, and state records document state interactions — a clean division that occasionally blurs, as when federal courts handled naturalization proceedings that feel local.

For researchers building out a methodology before diving into specific record sets, the how-family-works-conceptual-overview framework and the broader genealogy research site provide context on how federal records fit into the full research cycle. The genealogical proof standard governs how evidence from NARA — and every other repository — should be weighed, correlated, and documented before drawing conclusions.