About the National Archives Catalog (2024)

The National Archives holds historical U.S. government documents (federal, congressional, and presidential records) that are created or received by the President and his staff, by Congress, by employees of Federal government agencies, and by the Federal courts in the course of their official duties.

The National Archives Catalog contains descriptions for NARA's nationwide holdings in the Washington, DC area; regional facilities; and Presidential Libraries. The Catalog is a work in progress and currently contains descriptions for 95% of our records, described at the series level. This means you can find basic information about the records, including size and location, from the description. Additionally, every week we are adding more file unit and item descriptions, many of which include digital files.

Visit the National Archives Catalog or begin your search here:

Features of the National Archives Catalog:

• Enjoy the homepage featuring background images from Catalog records
• Transcribe and Tag digitized records
• Add your comments on digitized records, descriptions, and authority records
• Find what you need with an intuitive advanced search
• Filter your search results by Record Group/Collection
• Track your citizen archivist contributions withuser account pages
• Add data from scanned records to your developer toolbox with increased API functionality

We Want to Hear from You!

Let us know what you think—what you like and what you don't!Discover a glitch?Let us know!

Contact us at catalog@nara.govfor comments, suggestions, and problems you may experience while using the Catalog.

Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities

Limitations of Archival Content

The National Archives Catalog both links to and collects electronic records in a variety of formats from a variety of sources. Some of the archival content may not be fully accessible. Where NARA provides digital copies of records (e.g., documents, photographs, films, etc.), we also provide archival catalog descriptions of those records. If you require a transcript of a film or sound recording, or additional information about the records, please contact us.

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