Search Asotin County Genealogy Records

Asotin County genealogy records date back to the county's creation in 1883, covering birth, death, marriage, court, and land records held at the county courthouse and in digital archives. The Washington State Digital Archives provides free online access to many key Asotin County collections, making it possible to start your family history research without traveling to Asotin. For records not yet digitized, the Eastern Region Archives branch and the county courthouse in Asotin are your next stops.

Asotin County Records at the Digital Archives

The Washington State Digital Archives has indexed and digitized several key Asotin County record sets. These are free to search online and include both the index and, in most cases, images of the original documents. Start here before making any in-person trip to the courthouse or archives branch.

The Asotin County Birth Records, 1891-1913 collection covers the period before statewide birth registration began in 1907, plus some delayed returns filed after that date. The collection is open for research with no access restrictions. For best results, search by the parents' names rather than the child's name, and note that the mother's last name will be her maiden name. The records were transcribed and indexed by Eastern Region Branch staff.

Marriage records are a strong point of Asotin County's digital holdings. The Asotin County Auditor Marriage Records, 1899-2003 collection holds 11,568 records spanning marriage returns from 1899-1947 and marriage certificates from 1939-2003. There are some gaps in the earlier years. After being digitized, the original records were returned to the auditor's office. Searchable fields include groom and bride names (or Person A and Person B after December 6, 2012), marriage year, and Soundex.

The image below comes from the Washington State Digital Archives and represents the type of Asotin County genealogy collections available for free online research.

Browse Asotin County collections at the Washington State Digital Archives.

The digital archives interface allows free searching of Asotin County vital records including birth, death, and marriage collections.

More Asotin County Archive Collections

Beyond birth and marriage records, the digital archives hosts additional Asotin County collections. Researchers looking for naturalization records, land records, or court records will want to check the full catalog at this collection page and the related Asotin County records collection for materials that may not be as widely known.

Death records for Asotin County from the pre-statehood registration period are part of the vital records holdings. Since statewide registration began July 1, 1907, records before that date were the responsibility of the County Auditor. The Eastern Region Branch digitized and indexed these collections and can assist with records not available online.

View additional Asotin County collections at the Washington State Digital Archives.

This collection represents one of the digital archive holdings indexed by Washington State Archives Eastern Region Branch staff and volunteers.

Asotin County Courthouse and Clerk

The Asotin County Courthouse is located at 135 2nd Street, Asotin, WA 99402. The County Auditor's office, reachable at (509) 243-2084, maintains birth and marriage records from 1891 and death records from 1891-1907. The County Clerk holds divorce and probate records, and the County Assessor has land records starting in 1891. For in-person access, the courthouse is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

Divorce records in Asotin County are court records maintained by the Superior Court Clerk's office, reachable at (509) 243-2074. Under Washington's General Rule 31, court records are public with limited exceptions. The Asotin County Clerk is the official keeper of permanent records for all cases filed in Superior Court, including family law matters, probates, guardianships, and civil lawsuits.

Note: Marriage licenses are issued by the County Auditor for a fee of $64, with a three-day waiting period between license issuance and the ceremony. Certified copies of marriage certificates can be obtained after the license is returned and recorded at $10 per certified copy.

Asotin County Birth, Death, and Marriage Records

For certified vital records, the Asotin County Auditor's office handles birth and death certificates at the courthouse. Birth certificates cost $25 for the first copy and $10 for each additional copy ordered at the same time. Death certificates follow the same pricing. In-person requests are typically processed the same day if the record is available. Mail requests may take two to four weeks.

Online ordering is available through VitalChek, accessible through the Washington State Department of Health website, with additional processing fees. For vital records held at the state level, that same DOH page provides guidance on ordering modern certified copies.

Known beginning dates for Asotin County government records: births from 1891, marriages from 1891, deaths from 1891, court records from 1886, land records from 1891, and probate records from 1885. There is no known history of courthouse disasters in Asotin County, meaning the early records remain largely intact. This is an advantage for researchers tracing families from the county's founding era.

Eastern Region Archives and Research Help

The Washington State Archives Eastern Region Branch serves Asotin County. The branch is located in Cheney and can be reached at (509) 235-7508 or eabrancharchives@sos.wa.gov. Staff can help researchers identify records that are not yet digitized and assist with requests that cannot be completed online.

Asotin County was created from Garfield County on October 27, 1883. The county seat has always been the town of Asotin, though the city of Clarkston is the largest population center today. Researchers should be aware that records for Clarkston residents may sometimes appear in neighboring Whitman County as well, depending on which jurisdiction handled a particular matter. The FamilySearch wiki for Asotin County references key local histories including the Illustrated History of Southeastern Washington (1906) and Lyman's History of Old Walla Walla County (1918), both available online and useful for putting family records in regional context.

Asotin County Library Genealogy Resources

The Asotin County Library operates two branches in Clarkston. The Downtown Branch is at 417 Sycamore, Clarkston, WA 99403 and can be reached at 509-758-5454. The Heights Branch is at 2036 4th Ave., Clarkston, WA 99403, phone 509-758-4601. Both branches may provide access to Ancestry.com, Heritage Quest, and other genealogy databases on-site at no charge.

Local public libraries often hold unique genealogical collections not available online, including local histories, newspapers, and census materials. The Asotin County Library serves as a community hub for historical research. If you are doing Asotin County family history work remotely, calling ahead to confirm what databases and local history collections are available can save time.

The ghost towns of Craige, Hanson Ferry, Theon, and Zindel are among the historic communities listed in the FamilySearch wiki for Asotin County. Researching ancestors from these communities may require looking at plat maps, land records, and the county's early court records to establish where exactly families lived and worked.

Note: For additional Asotin County resources, check the third digital archives collection at the Eastern Region Branch holdings page.

View the third Asotin County collection at the Washington State Digital Archives.

This collection, indexed by Eastern Region Branch volunteers, represents another layer of Asotin County genealogical resources available through the digital archives.

Cities in Asotin County

Asotin County's main communities are Clarkston and the county seat of Asotin. Neither city meets the qualifying population threshold for a dedicated city page on this site.

Nearby Counties

Asotin County borders Garfield County to the north and Whitman County to the northwest. Check these counties if your ancestor lived near a county line or if records are not found in Asotin.