Guide
Kentucky Genealogy Search at a Glance
Kentucky family history reaches back to the 1770s settlements, when the region was still Virginia's Kentucky County, and the earliest records are Virginia land grants, tax lists and the county court order books kept from each county's founding. Kentucky did not begin statewide vital registration until 1911, though it tried from 1852 to 1862 and again from 1874 to 1878, and those early registers survive in part. The Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives in Frankfort holds the state's records, and the Kentucky Historical Society's collections and the Kentucky Death Index from 1911 to 2000 are free online.
Tax lists, taken every year from 1787, are Kentucky's census substitute and its most complete early record.
Official sources on this page were checked on September 25, 2026.
Guide
Kentucky Genealogy
Kentucky statewide genealogy links
- Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives CollectionsOverview of the Kentucky Archives Collection
- Electronic Records at the Kentucky Department for Libraries and ArchivesKentucky Government Archives
- Kentucky State Archives and Libraries SearchKentucky Archives and Libraries Search
- Kentucky Secretary of State Land OfficeLand Patent Historical Documents
- Filson Historical Society Library in Louisville KentuckyFilson Historical Society Library Genealogical Resources
- USGenWeb Archives KentuckySearch Kentucky GenWeb Archives
- National Archives Southeast Region for KentuckyKentucky Genealogy Research at the National Archives
Guide
Vital records for Kentucky family history
Kentucky began statewide birth and death registration in 1911, with Louisville, Lexington, Covington and Newport keeping records earlier, and the Kentucky Office of Vital Statistics in Frankfort holds the certificates. Death certificates are public and the statewide death index from 1911 to 2000 is free online, and the Department for Libraries and Archives holds public death certificates on microfilm. In Kentucky, birth certificates are restricted for 100 years. Partial statewide registration from 1852 to 1862 and 1874 to 1878 survives for many counties. Marriage bonds and licenses go back to each county's founding, and divorce records sit with the circuit clerk.
- Kentucky Office of Vital StatisticsBirth, death, marriage and divorce certificates from 1911, checked September 25, 2026
- Kentucky Department for Libraries and ArchivesDeath certificates, county records and the early vital registers on microfilm, checked September 25, 2026
- Kentucky Vital Records guideHow to order certificates and what is public
Guide
Kentucky archives, census and military records
The Department for Libraries and Archives holds Kentucky's annual county tax lists from 1787 onward, the Kentucky Land Office grants and the Virginia grants for Kentucky land, Confederate and Union pension and muster records, the Kentucky Penitentiary registers, Kentucky's World War I service cards and county records on microfilm, and it lends microfilm to Kentucky libraries. Kentucky took no state censuses, so the tax lists and the federal censuses from 1810 carry the family; most of the 1790 and 1800 Kentucky censuses are lost. The Kentucky Historical Society in Frankfort and the Filson Historical Society in Louisville hold manuscripts, family papers and the Kentucky Land Grants indexes.
- Kentucky Historical SocietyDigital collections, land grant indexes and family history resources, checked September 25, 2026
- Kentucky Secretary of State Land OfficeVirginia and Kentucky land grant records searchable online, checked September 25, 2026
- National Archives at AtlantaFederal court and military records for Kentucky, checked September 25, 2026
- FamilySearch Kentucky research guideFree indexed Kentucky records and images, checked September 25, 2026
Guide
County courthouse records in Kentucky
Kentucky county clerks hold deeds, mortgages, marriage bonds and licenses, wills and estate settlements from each county's founding, making them the single most important office for Kentucky genealogy, and circuit clerks hold civil, divorce and older chancery cases. Most county clerks post deed indexes online, and the Department for Libraries and Archives has microfilmed the older books of all 120 counties. Courthouse fires took early records in Bracken, Bullitt, Clay, Daviess, Estill, Grant, Greenup and other counties, so the tax lists and land grants are the substitutes.
Guide
Federal & National Authoritative Sources
These federal and national sources complement Kentucky's state-level records. They are the authoritative sources you should cross-check when Kentucky 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
Kentucky Genealogy Search, questions
Is the Kentucky death index free?
Yes. The Kentucky Death Index covering 1911 to 2000 is free online, and death certificates are public. Birth certificates stay restricted for 100 years.
What are Kentucky's tax lists?
Annual county lists of taxpayers kept from 1787 onward, held by the Department for Libraries and Archives. They name every adult male and his land and livestock and substitute for the lost early censuses.
Did Kentucky keep vital records before 1911?
Partly. The state required registration from 1852 to 1862 and 1874 to 1878, and the surviving county registers are on microfilm at the state archives. Louisville and Lexington kept records earlier.