For those new to this blog who arrived here due to links from other sites, please be sure to check out other postings on this site, check out the B&F Forms System (which has several inter-connected computer-fillable PDF forms) and the B&F Compendium of Jewish Genealogy with over 25,000 resources for over 200 countries.

Finding US Naturalization records can be very helpful when doing genealogy research, but can frequently be very difficult. Naturalizations before 1906 could be done in any just about any court in the country, and were not standardized. After 1906 the federal government took over the Naturalization process and all forms became standardized nationwide. The location of all Naturalization files post-1906 are generally in set locations based on where the person Naturalized.

There are different kinds of files available, but the main files you may be able to find include:

– Declaration of Intention (also known as ‘first papers’)
– Petition (also known as ‘second papers’ or ‘final papers’)
– Oath of Allegiance (sometimes part of one of the above documents, sometimes separate)
– Certificate of Arrival (certifying what date they arrived in the country, required after 1906)

Other files are also possible to find, but will generally only be found if you do a search through the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) which hold the entire C-File (certificate file) for naturalized citizens (records from 1906 onwards). Ordering a search online ($20) through the USCIS is a very time-consuming process. At the time of this writing, the USCIS is backlogged and processing search requests from four months ago. Once they find records according to your search, you need to then put in a request to copies of the records found, which costs another $35.

As such, the question is how can one access naturalization records without going through such a long and expensive process. There are some records from the National Archives that are up on Fold3.com, and frankly if you have a subscription to Footnote.com, or want to purchase individual documents from the site, this is the easiest way to go if they have the records you want. Fold3.com has Naturalization records from California, Louisiana, Ohio, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania. These collections are not complete for each state, so check the site to see which years and which districts in each state are covered. Unfortunately, this collection of records is unlikely to expand on Fold3.com since they changed their focus to military records. If you’re lucky the records you want will already be on Fold3.com, but if not its likely that Ancestry.com (the new owner of Fold3.com) will start digitizing new naturalization records instead.

If Fold3.com doesn’t have the record you are looking for, then you can in some cases order the records directly from the National Archives. In order to order a record from the National Archives, you will need to know the following information about the person who became Naturalized:

– State in Which the Naturalization Occurred
– City in Which the Naturalization Occurred
– Date Range
– First Name
– Last Name
– Year of Birth
– Residence City
– Residence County
– Petition Number (only required for records from New York State)

If you have additional information, you can also provide it, such as country of origin, date of arrival in the US, name of spouse, etc. Basically, whatever information you can provide that will help the archivist searching the records make sure they find the correct record. If you know alternate names for the person, I recommend adding those to the additional information field.

The form you fill out looks like this (click to enlarge):

National Archives Naturalization File Order Form

The cost of ordering files through this online ordering system is $7.50, and the can be sent either scanned on a CD or copied on paper (you can choose, but they can’t always scan the records, depending on size, so you might get paper copies even if you ordered a CD).

You might think this is great, everything you’ve been looking for is going to be on this site, but keep in mind that you need to know all the above information before ordering a record, so you’ll need to do some research first. If the relative you’re researching lived in the US in 1920, definitely check out the naturalization year field in the census for that year. If you know what year they were naturalized, you now know the correct answer for the Date Range field, and you can hopefully figure out what city and county they were living in based on that year (which could be different than the city and county from the 1920 census since they may have lived somewhere else when naturalized). Of course, to help you figure all this out, you can utilize the B&F US Immigrant Census Form (available on the Forms page), which will let you collect all the relevant information from censuses from 1880-1930 on immigrants.

In addition, I’m sorry to say, not all records are held by the National Archives. Some districts only have records before 1906, some only after. Some years are missing. Some districts only carried out naturalization for a few years. One district only lists records for a single day in 1895. It’s not easy to figure out the reasons why some years are available in one district and not others.

In order that you will not have to go to the National Archives site and get all the way through setting up an account and filling out the form, only to find out they don’t have the records you’re looking for, I’ve created a chart showing all the States, Cities and Date Ranges. Thus if you go to the State below, you’ll see all the Cities from which you’ll need to select in the system (sometimes these are not, strictly speaking, cities), and then the Date Ranges are given for each City. I’ve combined contiguous date ranges, but you’ll need to select the date range that includes the year your relative was Naturalized.

[Renee Stern Steinig e-mailed me to point out that while the National Archives online-ordering system only lists the years in the table below, the actual National Archives regional branches that hold the records may contain more years than what is listed in the ordering system. She has successfully ordered records from NY from later years by selecting a random year range and then indicating the real year of naturalization in the comments. This is of course open to the archivist who receives the order whether or not to fulfill it, but for $7.50 perhaps it is worth the chance since the alternative is more costly and will take much longer.

If you want a year not mentioned in the table below, find the regional branch likely to hold the records you want from the list of locations, then check out the regional branch’s holdings to see if they have more years available than what is listed in the online-ordering system (which is reflected in the table below).

For example, New York has a list of their naturalization holdings online that indicates holding that are much more recent than the 1906 date listed as the last year in the online-ordering system.]

I hope people find this useful. If you find any mistakes, please let me know in the comments below. Please also feel free to comment on your own experiences finding and getting copies of Naturalization records.

National Archives Naturalization Online Ordering

State	Town	Year Range
Alabama	Birmingham	1909-1963
	Florence	1922-1926
	Hunstville	1924-1926
	Mobile	1906-1969
	Montgomery	1912-1960
	Selma	1912-1960
Alaska	Anchorage	1903-1991
	Fairbanks	1909-1991
Arizona	Cities within the Arizona Territorial Courts	1881-1912
	Phoenix	1912-1991
	Tuscon	1915-1971
Arkansas	Batesville	1906-1964
	Fort Smith	1872-1906
	Harrison	1909-1950
	Helena	1909-1953
	Hot Springs	1941-1981
	Little Rock	1903-1981
	Texarkana	1907-1980
California	Los Angeles	1850-1991
	Sacramento	1917-1956
	San Diego	1853-1991
	San Francisco	1852-1989
Colorado	Denver	1877-1951
	Pueblo	1877-1949
Connecticut	Ansonia	1893-1906
	Bridgeport	1963-1992
	Hartford	1842-1906
	Meriden	1903-1955
	Middletown	1795-1859, 1872-1906, 1926-1955
	New Britain	1903-1953
	New Haven	1836-1992
	New London	1793, 1819-1906
	Waterbury	1854-1906
	Winsted	1842-1906
Delaware	Wilmington	1797-1991
DC	Washington	1802-1991
Florida	Jacksonville	1895-1975
	Key West	1847-1969
	Miami	1913-1991
	Pensacola	1884-1972
	Tampa	1907-1969
Georgia	Athens	1910-1925
	Augusta	1909-1970
	Brunswick	1939-1982
	Macon	1906-1930
	Rome	1906-1964
	Savannah	1909-1991
	Thomasville	1938-1981
	Valdosta	1927-1982
Hawaii	Honolulu	1900-1976
Idaho	Boise	1866-1981
	Coeur d’Alene	1912-1973
	Moscow	1907-1967
	Pocatello	1915-1941
	Twin Falls	1907-1980
Illinois	Chicago	1872-1991
	Danville	1906-1962
	Peoria	1908-1954
	Springfield	1856-1974
Indiana	Indianapolis	1907-1945
Iowa	Cedar Rapids	1891-1978
	Creston	1930-1951
	Des Moines	1915-1984
	Dubuque	1915-1962
	Ft. Dodge	1909-1977
	Linn County Superior Court	1891-1894, 1898-1947
	Mason City	1944-1961
	Ottumwa	1916-1951
	Sioux City	1930-1988
	Waterloo	1944-1962
Kansas	Ft. Scott	1916-1966
	Kansas City	1930-1970
	Topeka	1868-1870, 1872-1890, 1908-1984
	Wichita	1909-1991
Kentucky	Bowling Green	1913-1976
	Convington	1910-1956
	Frankfort	1912-1951
	Lexington	1922-1943
	London	1913-1972
	Louisville	1906-1978
Louisiana	Alexandria	1922-1964
	Baton Rouge	1907-1951
	Lake Charles	1921-1988
	Monroe	1838-1861, 1929-1955
	New Orleans	1898-1903, 1906-1991
	Opelousas	1918-1964
	Shreveport	1902-1991
Maine	Alfred	1805-1837, 1840-1852, 1860, 1904
	Auburn	1854-1893
	Augusta	1812-1838, 1878-1906
	Bangor	1835-1905
	Bath	1854-1906
	Belfast	1829-1906
	Caribou	1892-1893, 1901-1905
	District of Maine	1790-1991
	Dover-Foxcroft	1840-1906
	Ellsworth	1805-1838, 1847-1906
	Farmington	1839, 1846-1906
	Houlton	1839-1906
	Lewiston	1882-1893
	Machias	1790-1906
	Portland	1790-1903
	Rockland	1868-1906
	Saco	1881
	Skowhegan	1818-1906
	South Paris	1852-1916
	Waterville	1891-1904
	Wiscasset	1790-1904
Maryland	Baltimore	1906-1972
Massachusetts	Abington-Hingham	1887-1903
	Adams	1895-1906
	Amesbury	1906
	Attleboro	1904-1906
	Ayer	1887-1906
	Boston	1790-1991
	Brighton	1896-1906
	Brockton	1887-1906
	Brookline	1889-1906
	Cambridge	1886-1906
	Cambridge/Lowell	1850-1885
	Charlestown	1902-1906
	Chelsea	1886-1906
	Chicopee	1904-1916
	Clinton	1900-1906
	Concord	1905-1906
	Dedham	1806-1906
	Dorchester	1902-1906
	East Brookfield	1902-1906
	Edgartown	1790-1858, 1887-1906
	Fall River	1885-1906
	Fitchburg	1885-1904
	Framingham	1885-1906
	Franklin	1900-1906
	Gardner	1885-1906
	Gloucester	1885-1906
	Gr Bar (Great Barrington?)	1887-1906
	Greenfield	1840-1906
	Haverhill	1885-1906
	Holyoke	1885-1906
	Lawrence	1885-1906
	Lee	1900-1904
	Lowell	1838-1854, 1885-1906
	Lynn	1885-1906
	Malden	1885-1906
	Marlborough	1885-1906
	Middleborough	1885-1906
	Milford	1900-1906
	Nantucket	1804-1903
	New Bedford	1847-1855, 1885-1906
	Newburyport	1845-1896
	North Adams	1885-1906
	Orange	1899-1906
	Palmer	1896-1906
	Pittsfield	1787-1906
	Plymouth	1812-1883, 1885-1906
	Quincy	1886-1906
	Roxbury	1836-1906
	Salem	1797-1906
	Somerville	1886-1906
	Southbridge	1898-1905
	Springfield	1845-1906
	Taunton	1805-1906
	Waltham	1885-1906
	Ware	1899-1906
	Webster	1898-1905
	West Newton	1885-1906
	Westborough	1905-1906
	Westfield	1886-1906
	Winchendon	1906
	Woburn	1885-1906
	Worcester	1837-1906
Michigan	Bay City	Mar 19, 1895
	Detroit	1837-1991
	Flint	1965-1984
	Grand Rapids	1868-1972
	Marquette	1888-1915
Minnesota	Duluth	1897-1972
	Fergus Falls	1897-1902, 1906-1936, 1939-1978
	Mankato	1897-1901, 1907-1929, 1930-1961
	Minneapolis	1897-1976
	St. Paul	1897-1979
	Winona	1896-1900, 1916-1920, 1955-1961
Mississippi	Aberdeen	1913-1943
	Biloxi	1908-1965
	Clarksdale	1908-1952
	Jackson	1911-1956
	Vicksburg	1906-1956
Missouri	Cape Girardeau	1907-1979
	Hannibal	1907-1977
	Jefferson City	1938-1982
	Joplin	1932-1974
	Kansas City	1909-1991
	Springfield	1911-1983
	St. Joseph	1907-1976
	St. Louis	1846-1991
Montana	Butte	1891-1929
	Great Falls	1891-1929
	Helena	1891-1929
Nebraska	Chadron	1930-1951
	Grand Island	1932-1950
	Hastings	1931-1942
	Lincoln	1932-1978
	McCook	1931-1942
	Norfolk	1930-1951
	North Platte	1930-1951
	Omaha	1868-1906, 1930-1981
Nevada	1st Judicial District (Churchill County)	1908-1956
	2nd Judicial District (Washoe County)	1907-1949
	Las Vegas	1956-1991
New Hampshire	Amherst	1848-1873, 1876
	Colebrook	1890-1904
	Concord	1835-1906
	Dover	1833-1906
	Exeter	1798-1907
	Gilford	1847-1874
	Haverhill	1839-1906
	Keene	1838-1906
	Laconia	1846-1852, 1866, 1874-1906
	Lancaster	1888-1906
	Lebanon	1894-1904
	Littleton	1873-1912
	Manchester	1845-1913
	Nashua	1857-1909
	Newport	1812-1906
	Ossipee	1860-1873, 1876-1905
	Plymouth	1844-1858, 1860-1900, 1902-1906
	Portsmouth	1792-1914
	Rochester	1886-1889
	Somersworth	1887-1888
New Jersey	Camden	1932-1991
	Dover	1918
	Newark	1914-1982
	Trenton	1798-1988
New Mexico	Albuquerque	1882-1962
	Cities in Bernalillo county	1882-1962
	Cites in Colfax county	1882-1962
	Cities in Dona Ana county	1882-1962
	Cites in Grant county	1882-1962
	Cities in Lincoln county	1882-1962
	Cities in Mora county	1882-1962
	Cities in Rio Arriba county	1882-1962
	Cities in San Miguel county	1882-1962
	Cities in Santa Fe county	1882-1962
	Cities in Sierra county	1882-1962
	Cities in Socorro county	1882-1962
	Cities in Taos county	1882-1962
	Cities in Valencia county	1882-1962
	Santa Fe	1882-1962
New York	Brooklyn	1865-1991
	Buffalo	1903-1966
	Elizabethtown	1799-1906
	New York	1792-1906
	Plattsburg	1851-1906
	Utica	1821-1855, 1906
North Carolina	Asheville	1907-1959
	Charlotte	1929-1991
	Elizabeth City	1909-1927
	Greensboro	1875-1991
	New Bern	1920-1929
	Raleigh	1909-1965
	Statesville	1916-1949
	Washington	1915-1929
	Wilkesboro	1910-1920
	Wilson	1928-1953
North Dakota	1st Judicial District	1861-1877
	2nd Judicial District	1861-1882
	Fargo	1890-1924
Ohio	Cincinnati	1859-1963
	Cleveland	1855-1967
	Columbus	1917-1947
	Dayton	1916-1951
Oklahoma	Ardmore	1896-1906
	Guthrie	1907-1933
	Oklahoma City	1930-1991
	South McAlester	1891-1906
Oregon	Portland	1859-1992
Pennsylvania	Erie	1940-1972
	Harrisburg	1911-1917
	Philadelphia	1790-1991
	Pittsburgh	1820-1979
	Scranton	1901-1991
	Wilkes-Barre	1943-1972
	Williamsport	1909-1913
Puerto Rico	San Juan	1899-1972
Rhode Island	Bristol	1804-1903
	District of Rhode Island	1842-1906
	East Greenwich	1854-1903, 1905-1906
	Newport	1793-1906
	Providence	1793-1903, 1905-1906
	Westerly	1817-1819, 1842-1906
South Carolina	Aiken	1917-1926
	All Divisions	1965-1991
	Charleston	1886-1965
	Columbia	1910-1965
	Florence	1911-1929
	Greenville	1910-1929
	Western District (All Divisions)	1911-1965
South Dakota	Sioux Falls	1906-1928
Tennessee	Chattanooga	1907-1974
	Greeneville	1913-1964
	Jackson	1921-1929
	Knoxville	1908-1991
	Memphis	1907-1963
	Nashville	1907-1991
	Winchester	1942-1944
Texas	Abilene	1911-1984
	Amarillo	1913-1988
	Austin	1907-1981
	Beaumont	1906-1991
	Brownsville	1909-1917
	Corpus Christi	1913-1954
	Dallas	1908-1991
	Del Rio	1908-1982
	El Paso	1907-1972
	Fort Worth	1906-1982
	Galveston	1907-1921
	Houston	1908-1991
	Laredo	1907-1988
	Lubbock	1930-1962
	Paris	1909-1917
	San Angelo	1910-1959
	San Antonio	1907-1987
	Texarkana	1930-1960
	Victoria	1907-1955
	Waco	1906-1981
	Wichita Falls	1917-1980
Utah	Salt Lake City	1906-1930
Vermont	Barre	1900-1906
	Bennington	1842-1906
	Chelsea	1844-1906
	District of Vermont	1801-1906
	Guildhall	1896-1906
	Hyde Park	1842-1894
	Middlebury	1840-1904
	Newport	1838-1906
	North Hero	1829-1900
	St. Albans	1835-1906
	St. Johnsbury	1840-1906
	Vergennes	1848-1906
	Woodstock	1838-1905
Virginia	Alexandria	1909-1981
	Big Stone Gap	1914-1944
	Charlottesville	1910-1957
	Danville	1907-1966
	Norfolk	1851-1992
	Richmond	1906-1956
	Roanoke	1906-1990
Washington	Seattle	1890-1991
	Spokane	1903-1991
	Tacoma	1890-1991
	Walla Walla	1907-1972
	Yakima	1907-1950
West Virginia	Charleston	1906-1929
	Elkins	1790-1980
	Fairmont	1944-1974
	Phillipi	1910-1925
	Wheeling	1844-1875, 1912-1978
Wisconsin	Madison	1941-1969
	Milwaukee	1848-1970
	Superior	1910-1955

* In general I used the exact spelling of a city as listed on the National Archives site, with two exceptions. First, in Massachusetts one city is listed as Gr Bar, which I assume is Great Barrington, and have added in parenthesis. Second, in Washington it lists Walla Wall which I have listed as Walla Walla. If there really is a separate city named Walla Wall, I apologize.