Research at the National Archives

order copies online Now you can order copies of many genealogical records online!

Photocopying Costs Rise

Effective October 1, 2007, fees have increased for reproductions at all National Archives facilities, including for all commonly-requested genealogical records.

Obtaining Copies of Records

What do You Want to Order?

Information About:

Ordering frequently-requested Family History Records

For the following records:

To order, you can either:

  1. Order online, and place your order for these records directly through the web. Ordering online requires that you register as a user and that you pay with a credit card.

  2. Request these records using our special paper forms. Contact us to have these blank forms mailed to you.

Ordering Military Service Records

Ordering Microfilm publications

To keep up with ever-increasing costs, the price for microfilm has increased, effective October 1, 2005. More . . . PDF format

Ordering Copies of Other Records

When you are asking us to make copies of records for you, you generally need to be able to provide exact citations to specific documents.

For this reason, it can be very difficult to order copies when you not doing in-person research in a NARA research room

Self-Service Copying in a Research Room

When you are using records in a NARA research room, you can almost always make your own copies of both paper records and special media, such as film footage or photographs. See also our information on using scanners.

Copying procedures, the copying equipment that NARA provides, and the rules on what equipment you are allowed to bring varies in different NARA facilities.

Always check with the facility you are planning to visit.

When records cannot be copied

There are sometimes restrictions that prevent records from being copied. The most common are preservation priorities, copyright, and donor restrictions. Details...

If you have questions about specific materials, please check with the appropriate reference staff.

Fees

Fees are charged for reproduction of archival records. See our current fee schedule.

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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