Our Brazil genealogists research on location. They will find and analyze the best records available to further your family history research. They can search the archives and libraries in Brazil, including:

  • Arquivo Nacional (National Archives)
    Houses documents from the 1500s, including eight thousand rare books, maps, immigration records, photographs, newspapers
  • Arquivo do Ministério do Exército (Archive of the Ministry of the Army)
    Army records begin about 1750 and provide information about military careers, such as promotions, places served, pensions, and conduct
  • Arquivo da Marinha (Archive of the Navy)
    80,000 Navy records since 1800
  • Arquivo do Instituto Histórico e Geográfico Brasileiro (Archive of the Historical and Geographical Institute of Brazil)
    One of the most significant library collections on the history of Brazil, with thousands of items, including books and pamphlets, domestic and foreign
  • State Archives
    Each state has its own archives, separate from those of the national government. They hold records about their particular area, including civil registrations, censuses, inventories and wills, land records, land grants (sesmarias), military records, orphan records, notarial records, registers of foreigners, and slave records.
  • Civil and District Civil Registry Offices
    Cartório Municipal and Cartório Distrital house birth, death, and marriage records












  • Diocese and Parish Archives
    There are two archdiocese in Brazil, each of which has many records of genealogical and historical value for its regions
  • Local dioceses of the Catholic Church
    Local parish church records less than 100 years old
  • Libraries and Archives of Portugal
    Some pre-1822 sources for Brazil are also available in libraries in Portugal
  • Private and Public Libraries
    Brazilian libraries (including the National Libary) have local histories, directories, manuscripts, maps, newspapers, and genealogies
  • Historical and Genealogical Societies
    Many societies maintain libraries and archives containing valuable records.

Our genealogists can do research projects of many sizes and for many budgets. We customize the amount of research provided according to your needs.

If you would like to learn how our genealogists can further your research, request a research quote.

Some of the major records sources that can be used for genealogy research in Brazil include:

  • Birth, marriage, and death records were kept by some towns as early as 1500s
  • Birth, marriage, and death records have been recorded by the government from 1850 to the present
  • Churches kept directories and records of the baptisms, marriages, deaths, or other information about their members
  • State as well as military census records from as early as 1765
  • Civil and criminal case records were kept from the earliest days of the colony
  • Land records were kept by the towns and counties from the time they were settled
  • Probate records were kept by the local courts from 1570s to the present
  • Newspapers were written in many areas and time periods that contain information such as notices of marriages, notices of death, and obituaries
  • Military records
  • Notary records in Brazil date back to 1549
  • Town and county histories about the settlers and their families
  • Naturalization and citizenship records were recorded by the courts
  • Slavery and bondage records
  • Ship passenger lists, tax lists, and town records were recorded for many areas
  • Portuguese immigration to Brazil was recorded as early as 1800s
  • Cemetery records recorded on gravestones (tombstones) and in cemetery sexton records, municipal cemetery records, church yard records, grave books, plot books, and maps; civil cemetery records generally begin after 1840.

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