Search Maryland Genealogy Records
Maryland genealogy records date back to 1634, making this one of the oldest collections in the country. The Maryland State Archives in Annapolis holds birth and death certificates, marriage records, land grants, probate files, and court cases going back to the colonial era. County circuit courts keep local genealogy records across all 23 Maryland counties. Free online databases give researchers direct access to millions of vital, land, and court records without leaving home.
Maryland Genealogy Records Overview
Maryland State Archives Genealogy Collections
The Maryland State Archives is the official repository for all permanent government records in the state. It sits at 350 Rowe Boulevard, Annapolis, MD 21401. Call (410) 260-6400 or toll-free at (800) 235-4045. Email goes to msa.helpdesk@maryland.gov. Staff answers most email questions within 2-3 business days. For genealogists, this facility is the single best source for Maryland family history records because it holds documents spanning nearly four centuries in one place.
Vital records at the archives include birth certificates from 1875 (Baltimore City) and 1898 (counties) through 1922, death certificates from 1875 through 2012, and marriage records from 1658 onward. Beyond vital records, the archives holds land patents and certificates going back to the 1630s, probate records from 1634, court records from the colonial era, military records covering the Revolutionary War through the Civil War, census substitutes, and an extensive church records collection with baptism, marriage, and burial entries from various denominations statewide.
Several free online databases live at the archives website at msa.maryland.gov. The Legacy of Slavery Database holds more than 400,000 records of enslaved people, free people of color, and enslavers from 1830 to 1880. The Colonial Probate Index covers 1634 to 1777. Maryland State Papers from the colonial era include government correspondence and official documents. All of these tools are free and require no account to search.
The Maryland State Archives Beginner's Genealogy Guide walks new researchers through the record types held at the archives and shows how to start searching for family records in Maryland.
This guide covers each type of record at the archives, explains where it is held, and links directly to the relevant online finding aid or database.
Not all records are digital. Many colonial manuscripts, church registers, and manuscript collections require an in-person visit. The Research Room schedule varies by season, so check the website before you plan a trip. Orders placed through the online shop at shop.msa.maryland.gov take 2-4 weeks to process. Uncertified copies cost $1 per page. Certified copies cost $5 per document plus $1 per page. Phone orders go to 410-260-6487, Monday through Friday, 8:30am to 4:30pm.
Maryland Vital Records: Birth, Death, Marriage, and Divorce
The Maryland Department of Health runs the Division of Vital Records at 6550 Reisterstown Road, Baltimore, MD 21215. Call (410) 764-3038 or toll-free (800) 832-3277. Walk-in hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 4:00pm. This office issues birth certificates for events after 1921 (Baltimore City) and 1921 (counties). Death certificates from 2011 onward come from this office. For older records, contact the Maryland State Archives.
The Maryland Division of Vital Records at health.maryland.gov/vsa provides ordering forms, fee schedules, and complete instructions for requesting birth, death, and marriage certificates statewide.
Walk-in, mail, and online ordering options are all available through this office for vital records events in Maryland.
Under Md. Code, Health-General § 4-208, birth records under 100 years old are restricted. You must be the person named, a parent, a legal guardian, or a court-authorized representative. Death records over 10 years old are legally open to the public under Md. Code, Health-General § 4-214. Maryland treats marriage records as public with no legal access restrictions. Divorce records before 1980 are at the Maryland State Archives. Divorces granted after 1980 are at the circuit court of the county where the case was filed.
Fees range from $10 to $25 for most vital record types. Marriage certificates cost $12. Orders through VitalChek at vitalchek.com carry an extra service fee on top of the state charge. In-person requests at county health departments are often same-day. Mail orders take 2-4 weeks. VitalChek online orders arrive in 5-10 business days plus shipping time. Payment options include cash, check, money order, and credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, Discover).
Note: County health departments can issue certificates for events in their jurisdiction; fees and hours vary by county across Maryland.
Free Maryland Genealogy Records Available Online
Reclaim The Records obtained over 5 million Maryland records through Maryland Public Information Act requests. These records are free to download at Archive.org with no login required. The full collection is at archive.org/details/maryland-state-archives. Files are organized by record type and year range. Major items include the Baltimore City Death Index from 1875 to 1972, the Maryland Statewide Death Index from 1898 to 1968 and 1973 to 2014, and full-image death certificates from 1898 to 2012. Birth and marriage indexes cover multiple year ranges for both the city and the rest of the state.
The Archive.org Maryland State Archives collection holds millions of free genealogy records including death certificates, vital indexes, and naturalization records available without any account or fee.
Death certificates in the collection run from 1898 to 2012 as full PDF images, making this one of the most comprehensive free genealogy record sets available online for any state.
The Reclaim The Records Maryland page at reclaimtherecords.org/records-request/31/ lists every free Maryland dataset the organization has obtained. Key items include the Baltimore City and Baltimore County Naturalization Index covering 1796 to 1851 and 1827 to 1933, a 1914-1930 marriage index digitized by Greg Burton and donated to the collection, and marriage indexes for multiple year ranges. Note that no statewide death index exists for 1969 to 1972 and no Baltimore-specific birth index exists for 1942 to 1949 at the Maryland State Archives.
The Reclaim The Records Maryland page lists every free Maryland vital records dataset obtained through public records requests, with direct links to each collection at Archive.org.
All records in this collection are in PDF format and can be downloaded for free without any account, subscription, or payment required.
Maryland Land Records: All Online for Free
Maryland is the only state with all land records available online. The MDLandRec.net system at mdlandrec.net covers all 24 Maryland jurisdictions, including all 23 counties and Baltimore City, with records going back to colonial times. Searching, viewing, and printing are all free. A free account is required to view documents. Certified copies must be requested from the circuit court clerk in the relevant county.
MDLandRec.net is the official Maryland land records portal covering all jurisdictions with deeds, mortgages, plats, powers of attorney, and other instruments dating to colonial times.
Recent records from roughly 1990 onward can be searched by name, date range, and document type. Older records are browsed by book and page number, similar to how you would use a microfilm index at a library.
Land records are rich genealogy sources. Each deed names the buyer and seller, describes the property, lists the neighbors, and often includes family names in the legal description. For pre-1875 research in Maryland counties where civil birth and death registration had not yet started, deed records on MDLandRec.net can bridge the gaps where vital records simply do not exist. Every generation of a family that owned property in Maryland left a land record trail that stretches back in some counties as far as the 1630s.
Register of Wills and Maryland Probate Records
The Maryland Register of Wills website at registers.maryland.gov provides a statewide search for probate estate records. The database covers all counties and Baltimore City, with records going back to 1634 in some jurisdictions. Search by decedent name to find basic estate information. For full records and copies, visit or write to the Register of Wills office in the county where the person died.
The Maryland Register of Wills online search covers probate records statewide, including wills, inventories, accounts, and guardianship files from as early as 1634.
Wills name beneficiaries and list property items, making them among the most detail-rich records in any genealogy search. Inventory records list every object in an estate, including furniture, tools, livestock, and books, giving a vivid picture of a family's daily life.
Probate records in Maryland include wills and codicils, estate inventories, administration accounts, guardianship records, and Orphans' Court proceedings. Colonial probate records from 1634 to 1777 are well indexed at the Maryland State Archives. More recent files sit at county Register of Wills offices. The Colonial Probate Index at the archives covers the entire colonial period and is searchable online. Each county also maintains its own will index that the clerks staff can search for you.
Archives of Maryland Online Historical Documents
The Archives of Maryland Online at aomol.msa.maryland.gov holds over 400,000 historical documents. Contents include records from the colonial Provincial Court, land patents, testamentary proceedings, Acts of Assembly, governors' papers, and Revolutionary War records including oaths of fidelity and pension files. Some records are transcriptions. Others are scanned original images. PDF downloads are available for most items.
The Archives of Maryland Online holds over 400,000 historical documents including colonial court records, land patents, Revolutionary War records, and Acts of Assembly available for free download.
Browse AOMOL by volume or use the site-wide search to find name references in any document. The collection is strongest for 17th and 18th century Maryland and covers records that do not appear in any other online database.
Census Records and the Early Settlers Database
The Maryland State Archives Census Indexes at census.msa.maryland.gov cover the 1776 Colonial Census, the 1778 Oaths of Fidelity, and indexes for the 1870 and 1880 Federal Census for Maryland. These fill in gaps left by the loss of earlier federal records and are key tools for Revolutionary War-era research. All indexes are free and searchable online by name.
The Maryland State Archives Census Indexes cover colonial and 19th-century census records including the 1776 census, 1778 oaths, and the 1870 and 1880 federal census indexes for the state.
Each census entry can lead you to full record images held at the archives or at the National Archives, giving you a clear path from the index to the original document.
The Early Settlers Database at earlysettlers.msa.maryland.gov identifies 17th-century immigrants to Maryland based on land patent volumes from 1633 to 1683. If your family arrived in colonial Maryland, this database may name them directly. Each entry ties back to a specific land patent, giving you a document to trace at the archives. No login or account is needed to use this free tool.
The Maryland Early Settlers Database identifies 17th-century immigrants based on land patent records from 1633 to 1683 and is available free at the Maryland State Archives website.
Each entry in the early settlers database names the immigrant, cites the land patent number, and gives the year of arrival, connecting your ancestor directly to an original document.
Research Guides and Library Resources for Maryland Genealogy
The Maryland State Archives Reference and Research Guide at guide.msa.maryland.gov is the most thorough starting point for Maryland family history research. It covers every record type at the archives, explains what each type contains, tells you where it is held, and links directly to the relevant database or finding aid. The guide is organized by record category, so you can go straight to the section that matters for your search without reading through unrelated material.
The Maryland State Archives Reference and Research Guide covers all record types at the archives with instructions for searching each type and direct links to finding aids and online databases.
This guide is the single best tool for planning a research visit or a record request at the Maryland State Archives.
The Library of Congress Maryland Local History and Genealogy Guide covers major repositories across the state, research strategies, and finding aids for Maryland family history records at a national level.
The Library of Congress guide is useful for researchers who want to see Maryland records in the context of national collections and federal record groups that may also hold Maryland material.
The Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore at prattlibrary.org holds one of the strongest genealogy collections in Maryland. In-library access includes Ancestry Library Edition, HeritageQuest, Fold3 military records, and newspaper databases covering the Baltimore Sun from 1837 onward and the Baltimore Afro-American from 1892. The library's genealogy guide at prattlibrary.org/research/guides/genealogy-and-family-history describes the full collection and explains what is available remotely versus in person.
The Enoch Pratt Free Library Genealogy Guide describes the library's Maryland genealogy collection including in-library database access, microfilm holdings, and city directory resources.
Library card holders in Maryland can access HeritageQuest remotely from home, while in-library visits unlock additional databases including Ancestry Library Edition and Fold3.
How to Order Maryland Genealogy Records
The Maryland State Archives online order system at shop.msa.maryland.gov lets you request copies of specific records. A free account is required before placing an order. Visa and MasterCard are accepted. Uncertified copies cost $1 per page. Certified copies cost $5 per document plus $1 per page. Processing typically takes 2-4 weeks. You can also order by phone at 410-260-6487 during business hours or send a mail request to Maryland State Archives, 350 Rowe Blvd, Annapolis, MD 21401. Mail payments go to the Maryland State Archives as the payee.
The Maryland State Archives Ordering FAQ covers accepted payment methods, what information to include with your request, processing times, and how to follow up on pending orders.
The FAQ page addresses common questions about which records are available, what identifying information you need to place an order, and what to do if the record you want is not found in the current index.
Note: Processing times at the Maryland State Archives may run longer during peak periods; contact the archives directly if you need service on a specific timeline.
Browse Maryland Genealogy Records by County
Each of Maryland's 23 counties maintains its own circuit court that keeps local genealogy records including land deeds, marriage licenses, court cases, and probate files. Select a county below to find local contact information, record-specific resources, and search tools for that area.
Maryland Genealogy Records by City
Residents of major Maryland cities access genealogy records through their county circuit court or through Baltimore City's independent court system. Select a city below to find courthouse information and local resources for your area.