District of Columbia genealogy records

Births and deaths

The DC Vital Records Division holds birth certificates and death certificates dating back to August 1874. As of 2026, birth records become public after 125 years and death records after 75 years. All other records are closed, and certified copies go only to people who are legally entitled and show the required documents. For deaths, DC Health lists who qualifies: a spouse, domestic partner, or parent named on the certificate, an adult child, adult grandchild, or sibling with certified birth records proving the relationship, and some others with a legal need or a personal or property interest. Cousins, nieces and nephews, aunts and uncles, and friends are not allowed to order a closed death certificate.

For open records, DC Health says unofficial copies of births from 1874 to 1898 and deaths from 1874 to 1945 can be requested from the District of Columbia Archives. The Archives' own pages use slightly different years: its collections page lists birth certificates from 1874 to 1895 and death certificates from 1874 to 1945, while its request page, updated in September 2026, takes requests for births dated before the same day of the year in 1900 and deaths from 1874 to 1950. Check the current request form before you order. Births through January 1877 and deaths from 1874 to 1875 are already online in the Archives' digital collections.

Marriages

The DC Archives lists marriage certificates from 1870 to 1920 in its genealogy collection, and its request page takes marriage requests for 1870 to 1925. The collections page notes that, under the Vital Records Modernization Amendment Act of 2018, marriage certificates from 1919 on are not yet open to the public. For a marriage within 100 years of today, the Archives sends researchers to the DC Superior Court's Marriage Bureau.

Wills, estates, and guardianships

The District of Columbia Archives holds wills and probate records from 1801 to 1999, administration cases from 1879 to 1958, guardianships and administrative bonds from 1862 to 1939, and indentures of apprenticeship from 1812 to 1893. Its collection includes the original wills of Francis Scott Key, James Madison, and Frederick Douglass.

You can request a copy of a will from 1801 to 1999 with the Archives' online form. The same page notes that probated wills must be requested from the DC Superior Court's Probate Division. As of 2026, the Archives limits each person to five record requests in a 30-day period.

Land records

The DC Archives holds Recorder of Deeds land transaction records from 1797 to 1930. Property in the District is identified by square and lot, and the Archives recommends having the square and lot number before you contact it; the District's Real Property Tax Database can help you find it.

For deeds, trusts, transfers, and releases, use the Land Record Index, which is available on site at 1300 Naylor Court NW. As of 2026, land records research is open Tuesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to noon, and other research is by appointment. A selection of the land record cards is searchable online in the Archives' Digital Land Record Card Database.

Census records

In 1790, people living in the area that became the District are counted in Montgomery or Prince George's County, Maryland, because Congress did not authorize the District's location until July 16, 1790. No 1810 census schedules survive for the District of Columbia. The 1820 census does survive, and the National Archives notes that Alexandria County, Virginia, was then part of the District.

Most of the 1890 census was destroyed by a fire in the Commerce Department building in Washington on January 10, 1921. A small fragment for the District survives on National Archives microfilm M407, covering Q, R, S, 13th, 14th, and 15th Streets, Corcoran and Riggs Streets, and Johnson Avenue.

Other DC government records

Beyond vital records, the DC Archives holds Board of Health minutes from 1822 to 1878, DC Jail committal records from 1850 to 1934, and reports of the Board of Commissioners from 1874 to 1960. Its page also links to other historical repositories in the District, including the DC Public Library's Special Collections, the Washingtoniana collection at George Washington University, and the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard University.