Pierce County Genealogy Records

Pierce County holds one of Washington's most complete sets of genealogy records, with county courthouse records dating back to 1852 and digitized birth, death, and marriage records freely searchable through the Washington State Digital Archives. Whether your family ties run through Tacoma, Puyallup, or one of the county's smaller communities, the Puget Sound Regional Branch of the Washington State Archives and the Tacoma-Pierce County Genealogical Society can help you trace your ancestors here. This guide covers the main record types, where they are held, how to search them, and what you can find online at no cost.

Pierce County Vital Records and Archives

Pierce County was created on December 22, 1852, from Thurston County, and named for U.S. President Franklin Pierce. County records date from that year. The county auditor holds birth records from 1891, death records from 1892, and marriage records going back to 1876. The county clerk holds divorce records, probate files, and court records from 1890. These original documents are held at or have been transferred to the Washington State Archives Puget Sound Regional Branch in Bellevue.

The Puget Sound Regional Branch serves Pierce County researchers and holds the original county auditor registers along with other archival materials transferred from Pierce County offices over the years. You can reach the branch at (425) 564-3940 or email psbrancharchives@sos.wa.gov. For birth and death records after July 1907, contact the Washington State Department of Health.

The Pierce County Auditor acts as the county recorder and holds land records, plat maps, deeds, mortgages, and current marriage licenses. The office provides online document search for recently recorded documents. Certified copies of marriage certificates and recorded land documents are available from the auditor for a fee.

Note: Birth and death records from 1891 to 1907, marriage records from 1876, and McNeil Island area birth registrations from 1914 to 1923 are all held by the Puget Sound Regional Branch and digitized at the Washington State Digital Archives.

Pierce County Records in the Digital Archives

The Washington State Digital Archives has digitized major sets of Pierce County genealogy records. All three collections are free to search online, and most include scanned images of the original documents. The records were imaged by the Genealogical Society of Utah and indexed by Eastern Regional Branch staff and volunteers.

The Pierce County Auditor Birth Records, 1891-1907 let you search by child's name, mother's name, or father's name. Keep in mind that the mother's last name in these registers reflects her maiden name. Soundex search is available for spelling variants. The records include both the index and scanned images of the original birth returns and affidavits of correction.

The Pierce County Auditor Death Records, 1892-1907 cover deaths filed with the county auditor during the pre-state registration period. The search interface allows you to filter by last name, first name, and middle name with year range options. For deaths after 1907, the Washington State Department of Health death certificates (1907-1997) and death index (1907-1960; 1965-2020) are also available through the Digital Archives.

The Pierce County Auditor Marriage Records, 1876-1947 and 1984-present cover two major date ranges with some gap between them. The database is searchable by groom or bride name, or both, with year filters and Soundex. Marriage records were digitized by the Genealogical Society of Utah and indexed by Puget Sound Regional Branch staff and volunteers. Pierce County marriage records also go back further than most counties in the state because the county itself was created early in Washington's territorial history.

Lead-in: The Washington State Archives Puget Sound Regional Branch holds the original Pierce County auditor registers for births, deaths, and marriages from the county's earliest years.

The Digital Archives platform at digitalarchives.wa.gov provides free access to indexed and imaged records from Pierce County going back to the 1870s.

Pierce County Special Genealogy Collections

The Tacoma-Pierce County Genealogical Society maintains a special online index to Pierce County records published in "The Researcher" from 1969 to 2013. That index spans an impressive range of record types: bibles, cemeteries, census, churches, courts, funeral homes, land, military, naturalizations, probate abstracts, schools, taxes, vital records, voter registration, Washington pioneers, and other miscellaneous records. The society offers lookups from its indexes, research services, and copies of obituaries for a fee.

One particularly rare collection is the McNeil Island Area Birth Register, 1914-1923. McNeil Island sits in Puget Sound within Pierce County and was home to a federal penitentiary. Birth records from this period are held by the Puget Sound Regional Branch and are searchable through the Digital Archives as part of the Pierce County vital records collections. If you have family connected to that community or area, this register may have what you need.

The society's service area covers dozens of Pierce County communities including Tacoma, Ruston, University Place, Lakewood, DuPont, Roy, Parkland, Spanaway, Elk Plain, Sumner, Prairie Ridge, Carbonado, Buckley, Graham, South Hill, Puyallup, Bonney Lake, Orting, and Fairfax. If your family lived anywhere in the county between the 1850s and early 2000s, the society's indexes are worth checking.

Note: The society's website provides cemetery indexes, school records, and a list of published local genealogical resources available for sale or reference.

Probate, Court, and Land Records

The Pierce County Clerk holds probate records and court records from 1890, as well as divorce records and adoption records. Probate files are often among the richest genealogy sources because they name heirs, detail assets, and spell out family relationships. The FamilySearch wiki for Pierce County lists the county clerk as the keeper of these records and points to case files held at the Puget Sound Regional Branch.

Land records for Pierce County go back to the county's founding in 1852. The Washington State Digital Archives holds online indexes for Pierce County Plats and Surveys (1973; 1984-2023) and Recorded Land Records (1984-2023). These land indexes can help establish when an ancestor arrived in the county, where they settled, and how property moved through families. For original plat maps and deed records not yet digitized, the Pierce County Auditor's office can assist.

The county clerk's court records from 1890 onward may contain naturalization filings, civil and criminal cases, and other documents that reveal family ties and migration patterns. Researchers looking for immigrant ancestors who passed through Pierce County should check both the court records and the naturalization files held at the Puget Sound Regional Branch.

Pierce County Genealogy Research Guides

The FamilySearch wiki for Pierce County is a solid starting point. It covers record types by category, links to digitized collections, and notes the county's history and courthouse details. The wiki also lists the Tacoma-Pierce County Genealogical Society as a key local resource for researchers.

FamilySearch Centers near Pierce County can give you free access to Ancestry databases and other paid research platforms. Tacoma has multiple FamilySearch affiliate centers. Contact FamilySearch directly to find the nearest location to you in Pierce County.

Lead-in: The Washington State Genealogical Society maintains a directory of local genealogical societies throughout the state, including the Tacoma-Pierce County Genealogical Society.

State genealogical society resources can help you identify the right local chapter for Pierce County research and connect you with volunteers who know the county's records well.

For post-1907 vital records, the Washington State Department of Health Center for Health Statistics is the key source. That office is at 101 Israel Road SE, Tumwater, WA 98501. Marriage records from January 1, 1968 to four months before the present are ordered through the Center for Health Statistics. For certificates before January 1, 1968, contact the Pierce County Auditor.

Death Records and Cemetery Research

Death records in Pierce County before 1907 are held at the Puget Sound Regional Branch and searchable through the Digital Archives. The records run from 1892 through 1907. After that date, the state took over registration. The Washington State Library also holds some county-level death registers on microfilm, available through interlibrary loan.

The Tacoma-Pierce County Genealogical Society maintains cemetery indexes that cover burial sites throughout the county. If you are looking for a specific grave or want to verify a death date from the late 1800s or early 1900s, the society's cemetery records may fill in gaps where the official death register is incomplete or missing. Funeral home records are also part of the society's special collections through "The Researcher" index.

Lead-in: The Reclaim the Records organization has worked to make Washington vital records more accessible to genealogy researchers across the state.

Organizations like Reclaim the Records push for broader public access to historical vital records, which benefits researchers working in Pierce County and across Washington.

Cities in Pierce County

Pierce County covers a broad area with many communities. Each city and town in the county is reflected in the genealogy records held by the auditor, the clerk, and the Puget Sound Regional Branch.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Pierce County. Ancestors near county lines may have records filed in more than one jurisdiction, so checking neighboring counties is worth your time.