Rhode Island Genealogy Search

Rhode Island family history has the deepest town records in the country after Massachusetts and Connecticut: its towns have recorded births, marriages, deaths and land from the 1630s, and James Arnold's Vital Record of Rhode Island compiles the town records to 1850 in 21 published volumes. The Rhode Island State Archives in Providence holds the colonial and state records, and the state censuses taken every ten years from 1865 to 1935 fill the gaps between federal counts. Statewide registration began in 1853.

Rhode Island has no county governments, so the towns hold vital and land records and the probate courts are town courts as well.

Official sources on this page were checked on September 25, 2026.

Rhode Island statewide genealogy links

• Rhode Island Department of Health Vital Records
• Rhode Island State Archives
• Rhode Island Cemeteries DatabaseCemetery Database
• Rhode Island Historical Records Advisory BoardHistorical and Preservation Societies

Rhode Island towns recorded births, marriages and deaths from their founding, statewide registration began in 1853, and the Rhode Island Department of Health's Center for Vital Records in Providence holds records from 1853, with the town clerks holding the originals. Birth records are restricted for 100 years, marriages and deaths for 50, after which the State Archives holds the public ones, and Arnold's Vital Record and the town records cover events to 1850. Divorce records sit with the family court, with older files at the State Archives and the Judicial Records Center.

• Rhode Island State ArchivesPublic vital records, colonial and state records and state censuses
• Rhode Island Center for Vital RecordsBirth, death, marriage and divorce certificates from 1853
• Rhode Island Vital Records guideHow to order certificates and what is public

The State Archives holds the state censuses of 1865, 1875, 1885, 1905, 1915, 1925 and 1935, along with 1774 and 1782 colonial censuses, Rhode Island's Revolutionary War, War of 1812 and Civil War records, the colonial and state legislative records from 1636, and military and land records. The Rhode Island Historical Society in Providence holds the largest manuscript and newspaper collection in the state and the genealogy library, and the Judicial Records Center in Pawtucket holds the colonial and state court files. The National Archives at Boston holds Rhode Island's federal court, customs and naturalization records.

• Rhode Island Judicial Records CenterColonial and state court files from the 1600s
• National Archives at BostonFederal court, customs and naturalization records for Rhode Island

Rhode Island's 39 town and city clerks hold land records, vital records and, through the town probate courts, wills and estates from each town's founding, and most clerks post online land record indexes. Because there are no county governments, there are no county courthouses to search; the town is the unit. The State Archives and the Judicial Records Center hold the historical court and state records, and the Providence City Archives holds the largest municipal collection.

• Rhode Island County Public RecordsTown clerks and probate courts across Rhode Island
• Rhode Island Court RecordsSuperior and district court case searches

• National Archives, genealogyCensus, military, immigration and land records
• Library of Congress, genealogy guidesResearch guides for family history