Washington DC Genealogy

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Overview of Washington DC Genealogy Records

• History: The District of Columbia was established as the capital of the United States in 1783. It became a federal territory in 1871.
• Birth records: Birth records were kept starting in 1874 with complete records by 1915. Birth records from 1874 to the present can be obtained from the District of Columbia Department of Health.
• Marriage records: Marriage records were kept starting in 1811. Marriage records can be obtained from the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.
• Death records: Death records were kept starting in 1874 with complete records by 1880. Death records from 1855 to the present can be obtained from the District of Columbia Department of Health.
• Divorce records: Divorce records for 1803 to 1863 are housed at the National Archives in Record Group 21. Divorce records from 1863 to 1956 at at the Washington National Records Center. Divorce records after 1956 are available from the clerk of the U.S. district court.
• Census records: The first federal census available for Washington DC is 1790. There are federal censuses publicly available for 1790 (listed with Maryland), 1800 (partial), 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, 1940, and 1950. There were state censuses for Maryland that included the District of Columbia in 1776 and 1778, as well as the 1790 federal Maryland census.
• Probate and land records: Probate records were kepty by the clerk of the probate court. The recorder of deeds holds the land records.
• Other records: There were newspapers, churches kept records, and there are records of cemeteries, histories, schools, city directories, and other records that can be located by using the pages on this site. Records specific to minority groups can be found in the Minority Records section.
• All records: Use the links on this site to locate the online indexes and images of many of the records listed above.