National Archives Catalog
Verified working Aug 3, 2026
Search the U.S. National Archives’ record descriptions and digitized items.
National Archives Catalog is the public search portal for records held by the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. It helps researchers find archival descriptions, collection context, and available digital materials connected to federal records.
Why it stands out
- Directly tied to the official holdings of the U.S. National Archives rather than a third-party aggregation.
- Combines item-level digital access with archival descriptions that explain provenance and context.
- Useful for both casual discovery and serious source citation because records are connected to NARA custody information.
- Covers a wide range of federal record formats, from textual records to photographs and audiovisual material.
Good to know
- Scope is limited to records held by the National Archives, not all U.S. historical sources.
- Some catalog entries describe records without providing a fully digitized copy online.
- Archival terminology and record-group structure can take time for new users to learn.
Photos
Historians, genealogists, journalists, and students can locate official U.S. archival records and understand where they fit in NARA’s holdings. Trace federal records related to a person, agency, military unit, place, or event. Find digitized documents, photographs, maps, and audiovisual materials when available. Use archival descriptions to plan a deeper research request or in-person visit.
Search across National Archives holdings; record descriptions and collection metadata; access to available digitized archival items; contextual information about records and record groups; public web access for research and discovery.
Technical Notes
- The National Archives Catalog has a public API for querying catalog records and metadata in structured form.
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Similar sites elsewhere
- Library of Congress Digital Collections — loc.gov/collections
- Digital Public Library of America — dp.la
- Europeana — europeana.eu
- Smithsonian Collections Search Center — collections.si.edu
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