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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Download PDF
A few Alabama counties created birth and death registers between the mid-1880s and the 1930s. Check the County Records on Microfilm Database for records available at ADAH.

Birth and death certificates were not required by Alabama law until 1908. Those records, along with marriage records after 1936 and divorce records after 1950, can be obtained by contacting the Alabama Department of Public Health:

Alabama Department of Public Health
Alabama Vital Records
P. O. Box 5625
Montgomery, AL 36103
334-206-5418
www.adph.org/vitalrecords/

ADAH is a Family Search affiliate library, a designation that allows our patrons access to copies of many death records from Alabama between 1908 and 1974. Visit us in the Research Room to view digital copies of these records.
Birth and death certificates were not required by Alabama law until 1908. Those records, along with marriage records after 1936 and divorce records after 1950, can be obtained by contacting the Alabama Department of Public Health:
Alabama Department of Public Health
Alabama Vital Records
P. O. Box 5625
Montgomery, AL 36103
334-206-5418
www.adph.org/vitalrecords/

ADAH is a Family Search affiliate library, a designation that allows our patrons access to copies of many death records from Alabama between 1908 and 1974. Visit us in the Research Room to view digital copies of these records.

ADAH does not have adoption records. If adopted in Alabama, adoptees can contact the Alabama Department of Public Health for information on accessing their records:

Alabama Department of Public Health
Alabama Vital Records
P. O. Box 5625
Montgomery, AL 36103
334-206-5426
www.adph.org/vitalrecords/

There are many published sources of immigration records or passenger records, and sources are also available on Ancestry.com and other online research services.

Naturalization was a two-step process. After living in the U.S. for two years an individual filed a Declaration of Intent. Three years later, a Petition for Naturalization could be filed. Naturalization records prior to the creation of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) on September 27, 1906, are found in federal, state, county, or municipal courts. ADAH has a very limited number of naturalization records filed in county probate records. Check the County Records on Microfilm Database for records available at ADAH.

For records after September 1906, contact the National Archives at www.archives.gov/genealogy/naturalization.
ADAH has very few original records to aid in researching Native American ancestry. For published sources on Native Americans, check our online catalog.

Another source for information on Native Americans in Alabama is the Alabama Indian Affairs Commission:

Alabama Indian Affairs Commission
771 S. McDonough Street
Montgomery, AL 36130
334-242-2831
aiac@att.net
www.aiac.alabama.gov
Only for soldiers who enlisted in the state of Alabama. ADAH has many military discharge records (DD214) from the Selective Service Office for 1939 to May 1975. Those records are restricted to the veteran or direct next-of-kin and can be obtained by contacting the research room at 334-242-4435.

For discharge records after May 1975, contact the National Personnel Records Center:

National Personnel Records Center
9700 Page Avenue
St. Louis, MO 63132
314-801-0800
https://www.archives.gov/personnel-records-center/military-personnel
ADAH holds a limited amount of records related to state prisons and county jails; some are available online at Ancestry.com, and some are available in our physical collections. For records available at ADAH, check our online catalog.
No. For school and student records, contact the local county board of education. For college transcripts, contact the college attended.
We offer free access to Ancestry.com, Fold3, Newspapers.com, and HistoryGeo. We are also a Family Search affiliate library, meaning we have access to collections you can only access at affiliate sites such as ours. Also check out our County Records on Microfilm Database to see what records we have available for the county and time period you are researching. Books for each county can include information such as cemetery indexes, state and federal census records by county, and marriage record indexes. Go to our Research Tips page for more information.
Yes. We do research requests for our patrons at a cost of $15 for in-state requests and $25 for out-of-state requests. Additional charges will apply for requests requiring more than 25 pages of copies. See our Research Request Form for more information.

You may also choose to hire an independent researcher who will charge an hourly fee. Some of these researchers specialize in assisting patrons with tracing their ancestry for entry into groups such as the Daughters of the American Revolution. For more information, see this list of independent researchers.
We are open Tuesday through Saturday from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. For a list of holiday closings, check out our Hours & Location page. Please note that we will not pull records for viewing after 4:00 p.m.
We pull records throughout the day as they are requested—you do not have to arrive at a specific time of day. We will only pull six boxes of records at a time. Please note that we will not pull records for viewing after 4:00 p.m.
Items allowed in the Research Room:
  • Pencils
  • Laptops (without the case)
  • 3-ring binders
  • Folders, not including expandable folders
  • Cell phones (on silent only; all calls must be taken outside of the Research Room)
  • Sweaters and light jackets
  • Digital cameras
  • Flash drives


Please note that viewing original records will require further restrictions. These precautions are to protect our records.

Items allowed in the restricted area of the Research Room:
  • Note cards
  • Loose-leaf paper
  • Laptops (without the case)
  • Pencils
  • Cell phone (on silent)
  • Digital camera (with permission only; be sure to tell staff which collections you want images of, and not use flash settings)
  • Food and drinks
  • Ink pens
  • Briefcases
  • Book or tote bags
  • Backpacks
  • Laptop bags
  • Purses
  • Expandable folders
  • Overcoats and raincoats
  • Umbrellas
  • Note cards
  • Loose-leaf paper
  • Laptops (without the case)
  • Pencils
  • Cell phone (on silent)
  • Digital camera (with permission only; be sure to tell staff which collections you want images of, and not use flash settings)
Limited free parking is available in the parking lot across from the Adams Avenue entrance to the Archives, designated as “Reserved Parking for Alabama Department of Archives and History.” Enter the parking lot from Adams Avenue or Alabama Street. There are disabled parking spaces in the parking lot and on the street on Adams Avenue. Please note that the city’s disabled parking spaces outside the parking lot have a 2-hour time limit. See our Hours & Location page for more information.
A self-service photocopy machine is available in the Research Room. Copies are $0.10 per page.

Public access computers are available in the Research Room. Copies made from computers are $0.10 per page.

Self-service microfilm printers and digital microfilm scanners are available in the Research Room. Copies are $0.25 per page.

Original documents must be photocopied by staff. Copies are $0.25 per page. Some items cannot be copied due to size or condition of the record. Reference staff will determine if records can be copied.

Flash drives are available for purchase in the Research Room for $8 each.
Cash, checks and money orders are accepted. Checks and money orders should be payable to ADAH. Please include a driver’s license number on personal checks. (A fee of $30 may be assessed for returned checks.)

Visa, MasterCard, and American Express are also accepted.
Our facility is wheelchair accessible. This includes the Research Room locker area, microfilm readers, and tables.
We have a limited number of family bibles, church records, and paper family collections at ADAH. Our newspapers collection also includes rare titles that may not be easily found elsewhere. To see what we have, visit our online catalog. Other items only available at ADAH include state government records such as Alabama governors’ files. As the repository for state agencies, we hold records for many state government departments.
Check out our digital collections and electronic records collections for archival material available for research online.
In most cases, yes. Please visit our Digitization & Reproduction Orders page for more information.
ADAH does not have burial records. We recommend that you contact the cemetery directly for more information about interments on their property. We have a small number of cemetery inventories in our book collection. These are usually compiled by a private individual who walked the cemetery and recorded the graves they found. If a grave is unmarked, it will generally not be included in the inventory. For more information about historic Alabama cemeteries, you may wish to visit the Historical Commission’s Historic Cemetery Register or the Alabama Cemetery Preservation Alliance.
No. These records are held by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. You can visit their website at https://www.alea.gov/dps/driver-license/driver-records-crash-reports-and-driver-license-reinstatements.
No. Check with the county office where the registration was filed first. If not available through the county probate office, the Alabama Department of Revenue oversees the process statewide and may be able to assist you: https://www.revenue.alabama.gov/division/motor-vehicle/.
No, arrest records are held by the arresting agency at the municipal or county level.
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624 Washington Avenue
Montgomery, AL 36130
334-242-4435
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