Guide
Washington Genealogy Search at a Glance
Washington family history has one of the best state online archives in the country: the Washington State Archives' Digital Archives, free online, holds indexes and images of births, deaths from 1907 to the public years, marriages from each county's founding, naturalizations, the territorial censuses from 1857 to 1892 and millions of county records. Washington began statewide vital registration in 1907, with counties keeping records from 1891, and its counties, formed from 1845 onward, kept deed and probate books from the start.
The Washington State Archives in Olympia and its five regional branches hold the state and county records, and the Washington State Library holds the newspapers.
Official sources on this page were checked on September 25, 2026.
Guide
Washington Genealogy
Washington statewide genealogy links
Guide
Vital records for Washington family history
Washington began statewide birth and death registration in 1907, with counties keeping registers from 1891 and some cities from the 1880s, and the Washington State Department of Health's Center for Health Statistics in Tumwater holds the certificates. Birth records become public after 100 years and death records after 50, and the Digital Archives posts free images of death records from 1907 through the public years and the county birth and death registers from 1891. Marriage records are held by each county auditor from the county's founding, with images on the Digital Archives for most counties, and divorce records sit with the superior court clerk.
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Washington archives, census and military records
The State Archives holds the territorial censuses of 1857 to 1892, taken in various years by county, Washington's Indian Wars, Spanish-American War and World War I service records, the Washington State Penitentiary registers, county naturalization records with a statewide index on the Digital Archives, land office records and county records at its regional branches in Bellingham, Bellevue, Ellensburg, Cheney and Olympia. Federal land patents and homestead entries for Washington are at the General Land Office site, and the National Archives at Seattle holds Washington's federal court, land office, immigration and Bureau of Indian Affairs records.
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County courthouse records in Washington
Washington county auditors hold deeds, mortgages and marriage records from each county's founding, superior court clerks hold probate, divorce, civil and naturalization files, and the State Archives' regional branches hold the older books of all 39 counties with most indexed on the Digital Archives. King County's records, covering Seattle, and Pierce County's, covering Tacoma, are the largest sets, and most auditors post online recording indexes.
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Federal & National Authoritative Sources
Straight answers
Washington Genealogy Search, questions
What is on the Washington State Digital Archives?
Free online indexes and images of Washington births, deaths from 1907, marriages from each county's founding, naturalizations, territorial censuses from 1857 to 1892 and millions of county records, one of the largest state archives sites in the country.
When did Washington start keeping birth and death records?
Counties kept registers from 1891 and the state from 1907. Marriage records go back to each county's founding, some to the 1850s.
Did Washington take state censuses?
Territorial censuses were taken in various years from 1857 to 1892, by county, and the State Archives holds them on the Digital Archives.