Guide
Alaska Genealogy Search at a Glance
Alaska family history is split across three eras with three sets of records: the Russian America period to 1867, kept in the Russian Orthodox Church registers, the territorial period from 1867 to 1959, when federal agencies, mission churches and the gold rush towns kept most records, and the state period since 1959. Alaska has no counties, so there are no county courthouses, and records that live at the county level elsewhere sit with the state, the boroughs or the federal courts.
The Alaska State Archives in Juneau and the Alaska State Library hold the territorial and state records, and the National Archives at Seattle holds the federal records of Alaska's territorial courts, land offices and customs houses.
Official sources on this page were checked on September 25, 2026.
Guide
Alaska Genealogy
Alaska statewide genealogy links
- Alaska State Archives GenealogyFamily History
- Alaska State Archives and LibrariesAlaska Archives and Libraries
- State of Alaska Archives Genealogy ResourcesContact Genealogy Resources in Alaska
- National Archives Pacific Alaska RegionGenealogy Research at the National Archives
- State of Alaska Bureau of Vital StatisticsAlaska Vital Statistics Records
- Alaska Historical SocietyHistorical Society Genealogical Information
- Search Archives for Alaska School Records
- USGenWeb Archives AlaskaSearch Alaska GenWeb Archives
- Alaska State Library Resources GuidesAlaska Library Genealogical Resources
Guide
Vital records for Alaska family history
Alaska began territorial registration of births, deaths and marriages in 1913, and the Alaska Bureau of Vital Statistics in Juneau holds those records. Birth records become public 100 years after the birth and death and marriage records 50 years after the event, at which point the State Archives holds the public copies. Before 1913, church registers, especially the Russian Orthodox records digitized by the Library of Congress and the Alaska State Library, and the federal court probate files are the sources. Marriage records from the territorial period were filed with the U.S. Commissioners' courts.
Guide
Alaska archives, census and military records
The Alaska State Library's Historical Collections in Juneau hold the Russian Orthodox Church records, territorial newspapers, photographs and the Alaska Territorial Court records index. The State Archives holds the Alaska Territorial Court records, teachers' and fishermen's licenses, and the state census substitutes such as the 1870 to 1890 special federal enumerations and the 1900 to 1950 federal censuses, which for Alaska include remote villages enumerated by ship. The National Archives at Seattle holds Alaska's federal court, land office and Bureau of Indian Affairs records, including Alaska Native allotment files. Military records for Alaska's World War II Aleutian campaign and the Alaska Territorial Guard sit at the National Archives.
- Alaska State Library Historical CollectionsRussian Orthodox records, territorial newspapers and photographs, checked September 25, 2026
- National Archives at SeattleFederal court, land and Bureau of Indian Affairs records for Alaska, checked September 25, 2026
- Bureau of Land Management General Land Office recordsAlaska homestead and land patents, checked September 25, 2026
- FamilySearch Alaska research guideFree indexed Alaska records and images, checked September 25, 2026
Guide
County courthouse records in Alaska
Alaska has no county recorders. Deeds and land records are filed in the state Recorder's Office districts, whose indexes are searchable online through the Department of Natural Resources, and historical land records sit with the State Archives and the federal General Land Office. Probate and civil case files from the territorial U.S. District Court divisions at Juneau, Nome, Fairbanks and Valdez are at the National Archives at Seattle, and state era probate files are with the Alaska Court System. Borough and city clerks hold local records for the modern boroughs.
Guide
Federal & National Authoritative Sources
These federal and national sources complement Alaska's state-level records. They are the authoritative sources you should cross-check when Alaska state records are incomplete or out-of-state activity matters.
NARA, National Archives The federal government's primary archive. Holds the U.S. census (1790, 1950), ship passenger lists, naturalization records, military service files, and land entry files.
FamilySearch Free online genealogy platform operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Digitized microfilm copies of many county and state records worldwide.
Library of Congress, Local History & Genealogy The LoC's research guides, city directories, newspapers, and Civil War records, most accessible free online through loc.gov.
Straight answers
Alaska Genealogy Search, questions
When did Alaska start keeping vital records?
Territorial registration began in 1913. Earlier births, deaths and marriages appear in Russian Orthodox and mission church registers and in the U.S. Commissioners' court records.
Does Alaska have county records?
No. Alaska has boroughs, not counties, and deeds are filed in state recording districts. Territorial court and land records are at the National Archives at Seattle.
Where are Alaska's Russian era records?
The Russian Orthodox Church registers for Alaska are held by the Library of Congress and digitized copies are at the Alaska State Library in Juneau, covering baptisms, marriages and burials from the 1700s to the early 1900s.