Research in Naturalization Records
Now you can order copies of naturalization records online.
- Holdings and Indexes
- Federal Courts (U.S. District and Circuit Courts) in New York, New Jersey, and Puerto Rico
- Federal, State, and Local Courts in New York City, 1792 - 1906
- Clinton and Essex Counties, NY
- Obtaining Copies of Records
- Obtaining Copies at Our Facility
- Ordering Copies Through the Mail
- Beginning your Research
- Naturalizations in Local (Non-Federal) Courts
- New York City, 1792 - 1906
- After 1906 - All Areas
- New York (Manhattan) and Kings (Brooklyn) Counties, NY
- New Jersey
- Naturalizations of Women
- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Records
- Documentation of United States Citizens Born Abroad
- Additional Resources
Holdings and Indexes
Please see a complete list of our naturalization holdings and indexes (with online indexes available as indicated). More...
Federal Courts (U.S. District and Circuit Courts) in New York, New Jersey, and Puerto Rico
Researcher note: The Federal District Courts are organized according to the United States Code, the codification by subject matter of the general and permanent laws of the United States. For your naturalization records research, it is important to determine which court covers the area where you believe an individual was living when he or she filed for naturalization. Please see our page listing the Federal courts in New York, New Jersey, and Puerto Rico and the areas they cover.
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
- U.S. Circuit Court for the Southern District of New York
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York
- U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey - Newark Office
- U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey - Camden Office
- U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey - Trenton Office
- U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico - San Juan Office
Complete or partial indexes are available for some of the courts.
Federal, State, and Local Courts in New York City, 1792 - 1906
We also have photocopies of naturalization records filed in Federal, State, and local courts in New York City, 1792 - 1906. There is a Soundex index to these records.
Clinton and Essex Counties, NY
We also have naturalization records filed in Clinton and Essex Counties, NY, up to 1906, and indexes to these records.
Obtaining Copies of Records
Obtaining Copies at Our Facility
Researcher note: Please see the National Archives nationwide fee schedule, effective October 1, 2007, for information on the costs of obtaining copies of records at National Archives facilities on-site or through the mail.
You can visit our facility Monday - Friday (except Federal holidays) to use our indexes, view original documents, and obtain copies. You can obtain on-site, self-service copies of paper records and self-service copies of microfilm records. We can make copies for you, and sometimes it will be necessary for us to do this depending on the age, format, and condition of the original documents. If you require certified copies, we must make the copies, and there is an additional $15 fee per record. Please see our web site for information on our location and hours.
Ordering Copies Through the Mail
You can also obtain copies of naturalization records from us through the mail. We must receive payment in advance, and you must provide the name of the court where the person was naturalized and the petition #. If you do not have this information, you can write to us or send an e-mail and we can search on your behalf. Please see our section below on Beginning Research in Naturalization Records.
If you have the name of the court and the petition #, you can order records in two ways. You can send a check or money order for the appropriate amount payable to the NATIONAL ARCHIVES TRUST FUND to the following address:
National Archives - Northeast Region
201 Varick Street
12th Floor
New York, NY 10014
If you write to us, please be sure to include the name of the court and the petition #.
You can also use the National Archives' ordering online system. You will have to register and enter credit card information, and your card will be charged upon shipment. Again, please be sure to include the name of the court and petition #.
Beginning Research in Naturalization Records
You need to know as much as possible about where an individual was living at the time of naturalization, and you must contact the National Archives office that covers that area. See our web site for information on our facilities across the country.
Our office has naturalization records filed in various Federal, State, and local courts located in New York, New Jersey, and Puerto Rico. If you believe an individual was in these areas when he or she filed for naturalization, and you are unable to visit our facility, we can search our indexes on your behalf. Contact us by mail or e-mail and provide as much of the following information as you can:
- Person's name (with alternate spellings)
- Date and place of birth
- Name of spouse & children (if any)
- Approximate year of arrival
- Place of residence when naturalized (city, county, etc.)
- Approximate time of naturalization
- If a minor child, the parents' names
The search is free, and we respond to all requests within 10 business days. If we identify records that you want, reproduction fees per the National Archives nationwide fee schedule will apply.
You can do some searching on your own. You can access free online indexes to some of our records, and indexes for records held by other area repositories, at the following web sites:
The web sites include information on ordering copies from us and from other repositories.
Naturalizations in Local (Non-Federal) Courts
New York City, 1792 - 1906
You can access the index to our collection of naturalization records filed in Federal, State, and local courts in New York City, 1792 - 1906, through Ancestry Library (go to their Immigration Collection, and select the database New York Petitions for Naturalization). Please note that these earlier naturalization records (those filed prior to October 1906) generally do not record the name of the petitioner's spouse, the names of the children, or the names of the petitioner's parents. Birth dates, arrival dates, and the names of birthplaces seldom appear on these earlier records, particularly those filed before 1893.
After 1906 - All Areas
Under the naturalization act passed by Congress on March 26, 1790, and later laws, aliens could be naturalized in many different Federal courts and also in State and local courts. After 1906 we only have the records as indicated above for the Federal Courts, so you may wish to check with the local courts in the appropriate area. We suggest starting with the County Clerk's offices.
New York (Manhattan) and Kings (Brooklyn) Counties, NY
For example, a person residing in Brooklyn could have filed with the Kings County Court up to 1924. You can search an online index to their holdings (1907-1924 only), and obtain information on ordering copies of records, on the web site of the Jewish Genealogical Society. Please note that you must contact the Kings County Clerk's Office for access to these records.
Persons residing in Manhattan could have filed with the New York County Supreme Court up to 1924. Ancestry Library has two indexes pertaining to naturalizations held by the New York County Clerk's Office: Index to Declarations of Intent for Naturalization: New York County, 1907-1924; and New York County Supreme Court Naturalization Petition Index, 1907-24. Please note that you must contact New York County's Old Records and Archival Material office for access to these records.
New Jersey
In many cases, simply for reasons of travel limitations and convenience, persons residing in New Jersey would have been more likely to naturalize in a local rather than Federal court. We do not have access to any local (non-Federal) naturalizations for New Jersey here at the National Archives.
We suggest contacting the relevant county clerk's office as your first step. You may also wish to contact the New Jersey State Archives, which has taken custody of several county court naturalization series in addition to their collections of naturalizations filed at the New Jersey State courts. You can find a list of their naturalization records holdings through their online catalog, though we suggest contacting their reference services office directly for the most current information.
Naturalizations of Women
Before September 27, 1906, wives were rarely named on the naturalization papers of their husbands, although they received derivative citizenship through them. Adult women were seldom individually naturalized until the law of September 22, 1922, first required all women to file separately for naturalization.
Please also read this article from Prologue, the National Archives magazine, from summer 1998:
"Any woman who is now or may hereafter be married . . .": Women and Naturalization, ca. 1802-1940 - An examination of why women are not represented in early naturalization records.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
The USCIS has duplicate records of all naturalizations that occurred after September 26, 1906. If you are unable to locate naturalization records through us or through other research, you can file a Freedom of Information Act request with USCIS. You must contact them with questions or concerns about this process.
Only the USCIS has naturalization certificates, and only the USCIS can provide replacement certificates. You must contact them with questions or concerns about obtaining replacement certificates.
If you need it, we can provide a letter stating that we did not find any records for an individual. However, we cannot certify this letter, because only the USCIS can make a determination of an individual's citizenship status. If you wish to obtain such a letter from us, you must follow the guidelines outlined in the above section on Researching Naturalization Records so we can conduct a complete and efficient search. We do not charge for this search or for providing this letter. We respond to all requests within 10 business days.
The web site for the USCIS is http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis.
Documentation of United States Citizens Born Abroad
According to the State Department, the birth of a child abroad to U.S. citizen parent(s) should be reported as soon as possible to the nearest American consular office for the purpose of establishing an official record of the child's claim to U.S. citizenship at birth. The State Department maintains these records; we do not have access to them at the National Archives. If you are seeking such a record, please see the State Department's page on Documentation of United States Citizens Born Abroad for information on obtaining copies of these documents.
However, we have encountered cases where this procedure was not followed. A person in this situation may then have had to go through immigration procedures similar to foreign-born immigrants. In other words, there may be a naturalization record. We encourage you to start with the State Department, but we will also be happy to search our files. Please note that you must follow our research processes as outlined in the above section on Beginning your Research.
You may also wish to contact the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The USCIS has a record of every naturalized citizen, and only the USCIS can make an official determination of a person's citizenship. Please see the above section on U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Records.
