Request a Record

Scroll down to learn how you can request sacramental certificates, academic transcripts and images from the Archives.

Sacramental Certificates

Where is my record?

Most sacramental records are kept at the church where they were recorded. To request a sacramental certificate, contact the church where the sacrament took place using our parish finder.

If a sacrament was received in Central or Eastern Washington, refer to the contact information on the Diocese of Yakima or the Diocese of Spokane websites. If a sacrament was received at a United States military base chapel, contact the Archdiocese for the Military Services.

Not sure which parish to contact? We can help. Email us at archives@seattlearch.org.

The Archives has a limited number of sacramental records. Parishes do not send duplicates or backups to the Archives. Closed registers are transferred to the Archives at the discretion of our parishes. Before submitting a request to the Archives, please search the inventory of sacramental registers in our collection.

Sacramental Records in the Archives

Sacramental registers are the official record of Catholic baptism, first communion, confirmation, marriage, and death. We hold registers recorded by pioneer-era priests (1840s-1900), early registers of the Proto-Cathedral of St. James in Vancouver, Washington (1838-1890), and 19th and 20th century registers from some, but not all, churches and institutions within the Archdiocese of Seattle.

Sacramental records are considered private in nature (Canon 535), and access is limited to protect their confidentiality. Policies governing access to the records in our care are available here.

Request Your Sacramental Certificate from the Archives

Requesting Records

Before submitting a request, please search the inventory of sacramental registers in our collection.

Access is given to sacramental data through official certificates. Direct viewing of the registers is not permitted due to privacy and preservation concerns.

Records dating back 90+ years are accessible to all researchers, provided the subject is deceased. Copies of records created within the last 90 years are only issued to:

The individual of record or their power of attorney
Parents/legal guardians of children under the age of 18
Approved Church personnel

For more information, see our Sacramental Records Policy.

To order a copy of your record from the Archives, please use our online Sacramental Records Request Form.

Wedding picture of Marysville couple. VR700.1276

Academic Transcripts

Students at Blanchet High School in classroom. VR1040.0099

Available transcripts

Transcripts from the following institutions are located in the Archdiocesan Archives:

Assumption School, Bellingham
Blessed Sacrament School, Seattle
Immaculate Conception School, Seattle
Sacred Heart School, Seattle
Sacred Heart School, Tacoma
St. Ann School, Tacoma
St. Edward Seminary and St. Thomas Seminary
St. James Cathedral School, Seattle
St. Mary School, Seattle
St. Mary Academy, Toledo
St. Patrick School, Seattle

Request a transcript

In accordance with FERPA and other privacy laws, transcripts/student records are released only to the student, educational institution or, under some circumstances, to genealogists.

Request academic records by printing and signing the request form, which contains more information regarding required documentation.

Transcript Request Form

Please mail to: 710 9th Ave. Seattle, WA 98104 (ATTN: Archives).

Images

Images in the Archives

Our Visual Resource collections provide a pictorial history of the Catholic Church in the Pacific Northwest from the 1860s to the 1990s.

Most of the images were created and maintained by Chancery administration and archdiocesan parishes and schools; others were among the belongings of past bishops or were donations to the Archives from other sources.

Nearly half of the photographs in the Visual Resource collections were used in the Catholic Northwest Progress, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Seattle that existed until 2013. The Visual Resources collections include images of:

Bishops and archbishops of the Archdiocese of Seattle.
Diocesan and religious order priests.
Parish and mission buildings throughout Western Washington.
Women and men religious.
Local Catholic institutions, such as hospitals, schools, colleges/universities and convents.
Lay Catholic organizations and associations.
Events within the Archdiocese of Seattle.

Request an image

Officers of the Catholic War Veterans from Pierce County in 1952. VR1100.1145

Have other questions?

Please contact us at archives@seattlearch.org

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