Brazil Archives and Libraries

Archives collect and preserve original documents of organizations such as churches or governments. Libraries generally collect published sources like books, maps, and microfilm. This section describes the major repositories of genealogical and historical records and sources for Brazil.

If you plan to visit one of these repositories, contact the organization, and ask for information about its collection, hours, services, and fees. Some of that information may also be found on the Internet. You may need to obtain a letter of introduction from your embassy before visiting a repository.

Any civil registration records you need may be in a civil registry, district office (Cartório Distrital), or municipal archive (Cartório Municipal), and church records may be in a diocese or parish.

There are many repositories with genealogical information for Brazilian research:


 * National archives and libraries (arquivos e bibliotecas nacionais)
 * State archives (arquivos do Estado)
 * District and municipal civil registry offices (Cartório Distrital e Municipal do Registro Civil)
 * Diocese and parish archives
 * Libraries and archives of Portugal
 * Private and public libraries
 * Historical and genealogical societies

Records of genealogical value at district, state, and national archives include the following:


 * Church records
 * Civil registrations
 * Censuses
 * Court records
 * Military records
 * Emigration records
 * Land records
 * School records

The Biblioteca Nacional (National Library) and state and city public archives also have a large collection of published genealogies, manuscripts, histories, directories, maps, and newspapers.

Some helpful guides to federal, state, municipal, and church records are:

Catálogo dos Arquivos Brasileiros (Catalog of Brazilian Archives). Rio de Janeiro: Arquivo Nacional, 1977. (FHL book 981 A3b; film 1218975)

Guia Brasileiro de Fontes para a História da África, da Escravidão Negra e do Negro na Sociedade Atual: Fontes Arquivistas (Brazilian Guide of Sources for the History of Africa, Black Slavery and of the Negro in the Present Society). 2 vols. Rio de Janeiro: Arquivo Nacional, 1988. (FHL book 981 A3g) Volume 2 has information of the collections in the National Archives, in Rio de Janeiro.

National Government Archives and Libraries
Addresses for the national archives of Brazil and other national repositories are as follows:

Arquivo Nacional (National Archives) Praça da Republica 173 Centro RIO DE JANEIRO 20211-350 Brazil Tel.: (5521) 252-2617 or (5521) 231-0796 Fax: (5521) 232-8430 or (5521) 252-9821 E-mail: [mailto:arquivonacional@rio.com.br arquivonacional@rio.com.br] Internet: http://www.arquivonacional.gov.br/cgi/cgilua.exe/sys/start.htm

Arquivo do Ministério do Exército (Archive of the Ministry of the Army) Praça Duque de Caxias 20221-260 Rio de Janeiro, RJ BRASIL

'''Arquivo da Marinha (Archive of the Navy) '''Praça Barão de Ladário - Centro Edif. do 1º Distrito Naval - Térreo 20091-000 Rio de Janeiro, RJ BRASIL

'''Arquivo do Instituto Histórico e Geográfico Brasileiro (Archive of the Historical and Geographical Institute of Brazil) '''Av Augusto Severo 8 20000 Rio de Janeiro, RJ BRASIL http://www.ihgb.org.br/acervo3.php

State Archives
In Brazil each state has its own archives that are separate from those of the national government. They serve as repositories for records about their particular area. Records of genealogical value at state archives may include the following:


 * Civil registrations
 * Censuses
 * Inventories and wills
 * Land records, including land grants (sesmarias)
 * Military records
 * Orphan records
 * Notarial records
 * Registers of foreigners
 * Slave records

The state archives of Brazil are open to members of the public who have proper identification and permission (that is, a letter of introduction from your country’s embassy, a university official, or another notable organization).

Following are the addresses of the state archives:

Arquivo Geral do Estado do Acre Av. Epaminondas Jácome nº 3047 - Centro - Rio Branco - AC CEP. 69908-420 Brazil Tel/Fax: (0**68) 3224-3855

Arquivo Público de Alagoas Praça D. Pedro II - 57 - Centro 57020-130 Maceió - AL BRASIL Tel.: (082) 3326-6722

'''Fundação Cultural do Estado de Amapá '''FUNDECAP Av. Ivaldo Veras s/nº - Jardim Marcozero Macapá - AP - CEP. 68903-032 BRASIL Tel.: (096) 3212-5125

Arquivo Público Estadual de Amazonas Rua Bernardo Ramos, 265 69005-320 Manaus - AM BRASIL Tel.: (092) 3232-3878

'''Arquivo Público do Estado da Bahia '''Ladeira de Quintas, 50 - Baixa de Quintas 40320-140 Salvador - BA BRASIL Tel.: (071) 233-4455/233-6231 Fax: (071) 233-5112/244-2747

Arquivo Público do Estado do Ceará Rua Senador Alencar, 348 - Centro CEP: 60030-050 - Fortaleza CE Fone: (0xx85) 3101.2615 Internet:  [mailto:apec@secult.ce.gov.br apec@secult.ce.gov.br]

Arquivo Público do Distrito Federal SAP, Lote 7 - Bloco 41 - NOVACAP 71215-000 Brasília - DF BRASIL Tel.: (061) 361-1454 Fax: (061) 233-2191 Internet: www.gdf.gov.br/arpdf/info.html

Arquivo Público Estadual do Espírito Santo Rua Pedro Palácios, 76 - Cidade Alta 29015-160 Vitória - ES BRASIL Tel.: (027) 3223-7524 Fax: (027) 3223-2952

Arquivo Histórico do Estado de Goiás Centro Cultural Marieta Telles Machado, Anexo 2 - Setor Central Praça Dr. Pedro Ludovico Teixeira, 2 - Goiânia - GO - CEP. 74003010 Brasil Tel: (0**62) 3212-4606

'''Arquivo Público do Estado do Maranhão '''Rua Nazaré, 218 - Centro 65010-410 São Luís - MA BRASIL Tel.: (098) 3232-4544/3238-1399 E-mail: [mailto:apem@funcma.ufma.br apem@funcma.ufma.br]

Arquivo Público de Mato Grosso Centro Político Administrativo - CPA Palácio Paiaguás - Bloco 3 78050-970 Cuiabá - MT BRASIL Tel.: (065) 313-3103 Fax: (065) 313-2253 Internet: http://www.apmt.mt.gov.br/

Arquivo Público do Estado de Mato Grosso do Sul Av. Fernando Corrêa da Costa 559 - Centro Campo Grande - MS - CEP. 79002-820 BRASIL Tel.: (067) 382-5440

'''Arquivo Público Mineiro (Minas Gerais) '''Av. João Pinheiro, 372 – Funcionários Belo Horizonte, MG 30130-180 Telefax: (31) 3269-1060 / (31) 3269-1167 Internet: http://www.cultura.mg.gov.br/?task=home&amp;sec=5

Arquivo Público do Estado do Pará Travessa Campos Sales, 273 - Comércio 66019-050 Belém - PA BRASIL Tel.: (091) 241-9700/4046 Fax: (091) 241-9097 Internet: http://www.arqpep.pa.gov.br/

Arquivo Administrativo da Paraíba Rua Presidente Kennedy, s/nº - subsolo - Paraíba - PB - CEP. 58042-100 BRASIL Tel: (0**83) 3211-6259  Arquivo Público do Estado do Paraná Rua dos Funcionários 1796 Cabral - 80035-050 Curitiba - Paraná Brazil Telefone 41 3352-2299 Fax 41 3252-1728 Internet: http://www.pr.gov.br/arquivopublico/

Arquivo Público Estadual de Pernambuco Rua do Imperador D. Pedro II 371-Santo Antônio 50010-240 Recife - PE BRASIL Tel.: (081) 224-0085/9848 Tel./Fax: (081) 224-0620

Arquivo Público e Museu Histórico do Piauí Rua Coelho Rodrigues, 1016 - Centro 64000-160 Teresina - PI BRASIL Tel.: (086) 3221-5541

Arquivo Público Estadual do Rio Grande do Norte Rua José Agnaldo de Barros 2872 Parque das Colinas 59065-000 Natal - RN BRASIL Tel./Fax: (084) 207-3351 E-mail: [mailto:vanilde@secrin.m.gov.br vanilde@secrin.m.gov.br]

Arquivo Histórico do Rio Grande do Sul Memorial do Rio Grande do Sul na Rua Sete de Setembro 1020- 2º andar, Centro Porto Alegre-RS-Cep: 90010-191 Brasil Phone: (51) 3227.0883, 3221.0825 Internet: http://www.cultura.rs.gov.br/principal.php?inc=arq_hist

Arquivo Público do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul Rua Riachuelo, 1031 - 2º. Portão Centro 90010-270 Porto Alegre - RS Tel.: (051) 3227-1698 or 3211-2867 Fax: (051) 224-3614

Arquivo Público do Estado do Rio de Janeiro Rua do Riachuelo, 287 Centro 20230-011 Rio de Janeiro - RJ BRASIL Tel.: (021) 232-6299 Tel/Fax: (021) 232-7338/221-7960 Internet: www.aperj.rj.gov.br/

Arquivo Geral do Estado de Rondônia Esplanada das Secretarias Av. Farquar s/n 78900-350 Pôrto Velho - RO BRASIL Tel.: (069) 222-2801/222-8397/221-8521

Arquivo Público do Estado de Roraima Rua Miguel Lupe Martins, s/n - São Pedro 69306-490 Boa Vista - RR BRASIL Tel.: (095) 3621-3871

Arquivo Público do Estado de Santa Catarina Av. Mauro Ramos, 1264 - Centro 88020-302 Florianópolis - SC BRASIL Telefone(s): (48) 224-6080; 224-0890; Fax: (48) 224-7019 Internet: http://www.geocities.com/arquivoscatarinenses/apesc.htm E-mails: [mailto:arquivopublicosc@sea.sc.br arquivopublicosc@sea.sc.br] ; [mailto:associacaoamigos.sc@bol.com.br associacaoamigos.sc@bol.com.br]

Arquivo Público do Estado de São Paulo Rua Voluntários da Pátria, 596 - Santana 02010-000 São Paulo - SP BRASIL Tel.: (011) 6221-4785 E-mail: [mailto:fausto@mandic.com.br fausto@mandic.com.br] Internet: www.arquivoestado.sp.gov.br

Arquivo Público Estadual de Sergipe Praça Fausto Cardoso, 348 - Centro 49010-080 Aracaju - SE BRASIL Tel.: (079) 3179-1908

Arquivo Público Estadual de Tocantins 99000 Palmas, TO BRASIL

Civil and District Civil Registry Offices
In Brazil, records created by the local government, including birth, death, and marriage records, are kept in the local registry offices (Cartório Municipal) or the district registry offices (Cartório Distrital). These records are available to the public. For more information about these offices and their records, see the "Civil Registration" section of this outline.

If records are not available through the Family History Library from the towns your ancestors were from, you may need to write to the registry offices in that area. For help writing a letter in Portuguese, see the Portuguese Letter-Writing Guide (36341).

Diocese and Parish Archives
There are two archdiocese in Brazil, each of which has many records of genealogical and historical value for its regions:

Arquivo da Cúria Metropolitana Av. República do Chile, 245 (Catedral)- Centro 20031-170- Rio de Janeiro, RJ BRASIL Tel.: (021) 292-3132 Fax: (021) 221-8093

E-mail: arquid@pontocom.br

Arquivo da Cúria Metropolitana Av. Nazaré, 993- Ipiranga 04263-100- São Paulo, SP BRASIL Tel.: (011) 826-0133 Fax: (011) 825-6806 Internet: http://www.arquidiocesedesaopaulo.org.br/arquivo.htm

Some dioceses of the Catholic Church have gathered copies of local parish church records into the diocese archive. For records not available through the Family History Library, you can write to these archives and request brief searches of their records. For additional information, see the "Church Records" section of this outline.

Catholic Church records less than 100 years old are usually kept by the local parish, which may also have earlier records. It is possible to write to local parishes and church archives for information. See the "Church Records" section of this outline for more information.

A few records for other church denominations are found in the Family History Library Catalog. For records of other church denominations, write directly to the church by consulting a local telephone directory, or check the Genealogia no Brasil web site at: http://www.rootsweb.com/~brawgw/

[http://www.rootsweb.com/~brawgw/ http://www.enfoque.com/genealogia ]

Libraries and Archives of Portugal
Some pre-1822 sources for Brazil are also available in libraries in Portugal. Check the Family History Library Catalog under "Portugal," or contact these libraries and ask about their collection, hours, services, and fees:

'''Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo '''Alameda da Universidade 1649-010 LISBOA Portugal Telf.: +351 21 781 15 00 Fax: +351 21 793 72 30 e-mail geral: [mailto:dc@iantt.pt dc@iantt.pt] Internet: http://www.iantt.pt/

Arquivo Histórico Militar (Historical Military Archive) Largo do Caminho de Ferro, 12 1100-105 Lisboa PORTUGAL Telefone: 218 842 563   Fax: 218 842 514 Internet: Arquivo Histórico Militar website

Arquivo Geral da Marinha (General Archive of the Navy) Praça do Império 1400 - 206 Lisboa PORTUGAL Tel.: 213658520 Fax: 213658523 E-Mail: [mailto:biblioteca.marinha@marinha.pt biblioteca.marinha@marinha.pt] Internet: Arquivo Geral da Marinha website

Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino (Historical Oversea Archive) Calçada da Boa-Hora, 30 (Palácio de Ega) 1300-095 Lisboa PORTUGAL Phone: 351+213616330 E-mail [mailto:ahu@iict.pt ahu@iict.pt] Internet: www.iict.pt/ahu/index.html

Biblioteca da Ajuda (Library of Assistance) Palácio da Ajuda 1300 Lisboa PORTUGAL Tel / Fax 351 21 363 85 92 E-mail: [mailto:ajuda.lib@ippar.pt ajuda.lib@ippar.pt] Internet: http://www.ippar.pt/sites_externos/bajuda/index.htm

Biblioteca Nacional (National Library) Campo Grande 83 1749-081 Lisboa PORTUGAL Tel.: 217-982-000 Fax: 217-982-138 Internet: http://www.bn.pt/

For information on records of Brazil in Portugal, see:

Almeida, Eduardo de Castro, Inventário dos documentos relativos ao Brasil existentes no Arquivo da Marinha e Ultramar de Lisboa (Inventory of documents relating to Brazil that exist in the Marinha and Utramarino archives). 8 vols. Rio de Janeiro, 1913–1938.

Private and Public Libraries
Brazilian libraries have collected published sources such as local histories, phone directories, maps, newspapers, and genealogies. See the "Genealogy" section of this outline for information about compiled family histories.

The National Library has an extensive collection of manuscripts and published sources. For information, write to:

Fundação Biblioteca Nacional (National Library Establishment) Av. Rio Branco 219-239 20040-008 Rio de Janeiro, RJ BRASIL Tel 55 21 3095 3879 Fax 55 21 3095 3811 Internet: http://www.bn.br/site/default.htm

Other useful libraries include:

Instituto Genealógico Brasileiro Rua Sete de Abril, 230 01044-000 São Paulo, SP BRASIL Tel.: (11) 257-4840

Universidade de São Paulo Cidade Universitária Armando de Salles Oliveira CP 8191 05508-900 São Paulo BRASIL Fax: (11) 815-2142 E-mail: [mailto:dtsibi@org.usp.br dtsibi@org.usp.br] Internet: http://www2.usp.br/portugues/index.usp

Many of the archives, museums, libraries, and universities of Brazil can be found on the Internet at:

http://www.uidaho.edu/special-collections/latam.html

http://www1.lanic.utexas.edu/subject/libraries/

Historical and Genealogical Societies
In Brazil there are organized historical and genealogical societies. Some societies maintain libraries and archives that collect valuable records. For more information, see the "Societies" section of this outline.

Inventories, Registers, and Catalogs
Many archives have catalogs, inventories, guides, or periodicals that describe their records and how to use them. If possible, study these guides before you visit, or use the records during your visit so you can use your time more effectively. See:

Catálogo dos arquivos brasileiros (Catalog of the Brazilian archives). Rio de Janeiro: Arquivo Nacional, 1977. (FHL book 981 A3b; film 1218975)

A guide to the archives and libraries for slavery records in Brazil is:

Guia brasileiro de fontes para a história da África, da escravidão negra e do negro na sociedade atual: fontes arquivistas (Brazilian Guide of Sources for the History of Africa, Black Slavery and of the Negro in the Present Society). 2 vols. Arquivo Nacional: Departamento de Imprensa Nacional, 1988. (FHL book 981 A3g) This guide describes the records in federal, state, and ecclesiastical archives.