Research at the National Archives

We have so many records that...

documents circling earth

Laid side to side, pages in our holdings would circle the Earth over 57 times! Because of the cost to digitize such a volume of materials, only a small percentage is available for research online. Our web site offers tools and guides to help you locate these documents. To complete your research and use the records, you may need to visit us.

What's Available Online?

What's online?Start here to examine some of our online resources!

  • Some records are online. See our checklist of places on this web site that provide records online.
  • Information about the records. Research your topic before you visit us to see the records.
  • Ways to order copies of records.

Online Research Tools

Read more about each

What's Next? Visit Us

Researchers at the Regional Archives in Anchorage, Alaska.

Even if you find information about records on our web site, to complete your research and use the records, you may need to visit us or hire an independent researcher.
Learn more

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More information on Adobe Acrobat PDF files is available on our Accessibility page.

Please Note-All Research Rooms will be closed January 19, Research Rooms in the DC-area closed on January 20. All National Archives research rooms will be closed on January 19 for the Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. Washington, DC-area research rooms will be closed on January 20 for the President's Inauguration. The National Archives museum in Washington will be open on both days.

Records Temporarily Unavailable

  • Attention Researchers:
    The "Sarah Clark Files" in RG 342 (Entry 1001), will be closed as of Monday, June 16, 2008, and will remain closed for about one year as they are reboxed, organized, and new finding aids are created.

  • Access to some records in RG 110 (Civil War) will temporarily be unavailable during their relocation from the National Archives Building in Washington, DC, to NARA's regional locations beginning August 11, 2008. The records will reopen for public access at the regional locations on December 8, 2008.
    Learn more

What's New?

The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001
Telephone: 1-86-NARA-NARA or 1-866-272-6272