GovInfo provides free public access to official publications from all three branches of the Federal Government.
Search U.S. Government Publishing Office’s Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP) for catalog records. Many records link to the full text.
DiscoverGov is a unified interface for trusted Government information searching across multiple U.S. Federal Government databases, including the CGP and GovInfo.
All FDLP Resource Guides are open educational resources for anyone to share, copy, and reuse.
Want to link or share this guide? Use this permalink:
As of June 2025, this guide highlights different U.S. Government resources on genealogical information, including on ancestry, military records, and where to conduct further research either at a national or state archive, state historical society, local library, or a Federal Depository Library.
Image sources: (left) U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NAID: 286213043) and (right) Library of Congress (NAID: 348261747)
| Resource | About |
|---|---|
| Local History and Genealogy Research Guides - Library of Congress | Get started with local history through the Library of Congress Research Topics and How-To Guides, Story Maps, U.S. State and Territory Guides, and Genealogy Basics (explore hometown records and see tools for talking to living relatives and neighbors). |
| Genealogy - U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) | A selection of links from NARA on how to do genealogical research, genealogy resources around the world, and searchable databases. |
| Resources for Genealogists - NARA | Use the National Archives to start your family research, review popular topics, find genealogy events, and review key genealogy tools. |
Image sources (clockwise upper left): Hill, J.G.; family and home (NAID: 281388), Theodore Roosevelt and family, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Joanna Sturm (NPG.81.126), Afro-American Historical Family Record, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution (NPG.2006.47), Indian family (NAID: 297463), Family and Car (NAID: 12460350), and Photograph of Senator Henry Hall Falkener and family, Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Margaret Falkener DeLorme, Waldo C. Falkener, Cameron S. Falkener and Gilbert E. DeLorme (2014.94.16)
Find vital records (birth, death, and marriage), immigration records, and land records. Other types of genealogical records are in other menu options on the left.
| Resource | About |
|---|---|
| Vital Records - NARA | List of websites for locating birth, death, and marriage records, maintained by NARA. |
| Where to Write for Vital Records - National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) | Use the NCHS to find out how to obtain a copy of vital records for each state or territory, including: birth, death, marriage, and divorce records. |
| Immigration Records at the National Archives - NARA | Dive into records at NARA concerning immigrants from the late 1700s to the early 2000s. Records covered include immigration, naturalization, visas, alien files (A-Files), enemy aliens, passports, and other immigrant topics. |
| USCIS Genealogy Program - U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) | Request immigration records from select time periods, such as alien registration forms, visa files, registry files, and A-Files, using this USCIS fee-based service. |
| Official Federal Land Records Site - Bureau of Land Management (BLM) | Access the BLM's Federal land conveyance records, including images to "more than five million Federal land title records issued between 1788 and the present." Available records include: Land patents (such as Cash Entry, Homestead, and Military Warrant patents), survey plats and field notes, land status records, and more. Visit the BLM Reference Center for a description of these records. |
| Use of topographic maps in genealogical research - U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) | Use USGS topographic maps to learn about local history and track down geographic name changes. |
Image sources: NARA, left to right: Death Certificate for Preston Thomas Tucker (NAID: 7970766), Marriage Certificate for Albert Bassittie and Sophia Dayday (NAID: 16358190), List of U. S. Citizens (For the Immigration Authorities), R.M.S. CARPATHIA (NAID: 300349), and Birth Certificate (NAID: 7388915)
Learn more about the
Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP)
For questions or comments, contact the FDLP Resource Guides Team at @askGPO