National Personnel Records Center (NPRC)

United States Missouri  Archives and Libraries  

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Contact Information
E-mail: [mailto:MPR.center@nara.gov MPR.center@nara.gov]

Address:


 * National Personnel Records Center
 * 1 Archives Drive
 * St. Louis, MO 63138

Telephone: 314-801-0800 Fax:  314-801-9195

Hours: Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. (Closed weekends and federal holidays).

Directions, map, and public transportation:


 * Driving directions (pdf).
 * Google Map to NPRC St. Louis (that is Spanish Lake, MO).
 * City Buses. MetroBus Route 75 Lilac-Hanley stops at the NPRC (stop 16085).

Internet sites and databases:


 * The National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) address, directions, more about the facility, press kit, information pamphlet, media articles, mission and history, and holdings.
 * Resources for Genealogists getting started guide, available records, online catalog / databases.
 * Civilian Personnel contact information, who has access, FAQs, other sources.
 * Military Personnel holdings, contact information, fire of 1973, request form, FAQs, replacing awards.
 * Archival Research Catalog (ARC) of NARA's nationwide holdings in the D.C. area, Regional Branches, and Presidential Libraries
 * Access to Archival Databases (AAD) of over 85 million digitized records created by 30 government agencies (but limited to only 475 out of NARA's 200,000 data files)

Collection Description
The National Personnel Records Center (NPRC), also known as the National Archives at St. Louis, is one of the National Archives and Records Administration's (NARA) largest operations.


 * Archival Records (accessable):  Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF) from all service branches for veterans with a discharge date from 1912 to 1952*. Records of Persons of Exceptional Prominence (PEP) military personnel files of Presidents, members of Congress and the Supreme Court, famous military leaders, decorated heroes, celebrities. Official Personnel Folders (OPF) of former Federal civil servants whose employment ended prior to 1952. Organizational, auxiliary and other records about individual military or civilian service including Selective Service Records.
 * Federal Records (restricted):  Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF) from all service branches for veterans with a discharge date of 1952* or after. Military health and medical records of discharged and deceased veterans, retirees and military family members treated at military service medical facilities. Official Personnel Folders (OPF) of former Federal civil servants whose employment ended after 1951. Employee Medical Folders (EMF) of former Federal civilian employees.


 * * Records are accessioned into the National Archives, and become archival, 62 years after  the service member's separation from the military. This is a rolling date which changes every year.


 * For an extensive history, see "The National Personnel Records Center"

Record Loss. On 12 July 1973 a fire resulted in the loss of records for:


 * Army 80% of soldiers discharged 1912-1960.
 * Air Force 75% of airmen discharged 1947-1964 (James E. Hubbard to Z in the alphabet). For alternative veterans' records suggestions, see Finding a World War II (1939-1945) Veteran's Records—most sources listed would also cover 1912-1964.

Tips
While the NPRC's Archival Research Room is open to the public, to view records schedule an appointment in advance. 'Appointments are required. ' For an appointment e-mail: [mailto:stlarr.archives@nara.gov stlarr.archives@nara.gov], or telephone: 314-801-0850. When scheduling an appointment please provide:


 * your full name
 * your daytime telephone number
 * date and time of the desired appointment
 * if you want to bring electronic equipment see Archival Research Room Policies and Procedures
 * the specifics of the records you are requesting.

Guides

 * Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF), Archival Holdings
 * Official Personnel Folders (OPF), Federal (non-archival) Holdings and Access

Alternate Repositories
If you cannot visit or find a source at the , a similar source may be available at one of the following.

Overlapping Collections


 * National Archives I, Washington DC, census, pre-WWI military service &amp; pensions, passenger lists, naturalizations, passports, federal bounty land, homesteads, bankruptcy, ethnic sources, prisons, and federal employees.
 * National Archives at College Park, Maryland collects records of the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Justice, Labor, State, Transportation, and Treasury all after 1900.
 * National Archives at Kansas City, MO, records of federal agencies and courts for Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska, censuses, ships lists, naturalizations, military records.

Neighboring Collections


 * In 1876 St. Louis City separated from St. Louis County, but retained all of the original St. Louis County records prior to 1876.


 * St. Louis City Recorder of Deeds and Vital Records Registrar has births 1825-1909, and 1920-present; marriages 1766-1931; deaths 1825-1960, and 1965-present; land 1877-present; adoptions, cemetery records, French and Spanish colonial records, orphanages, licenses and trademarks, veterans discharges, and will indexes, including county records before 1876.
 * St. Louis City Assessor has real estate and property tax records.
 * St. Louis City 22nd Circuit Court probate records 1804-2000; civil, criminal, and family court.
 * U.S. Customs House, St. Louis, has immigration and naturalization records.


 * St. Louis County Vital Records, Berkeley, births 1920-present, and deaths 1883-present.
 * St. Louis County Clerk, Clayton, has births 1877-1910.
 * St. Louis County Recorder of Deeds Division, Clayton, has marriages and land records.
 * St. Louis County Circuit Court Clerk, Clayton, has divorce and court records.
 * St. Louis County Probate Court, Clayton, has probate records and an online index.
 * St. Louis County Office of the Medical Examiner, St. Louis, has selected death records.


 * St. Louis Genealogical Society has a collection of 20,000 books, journals, maps, and CDs at the St. Louis County Library (next).
 * St. Louis County Library collections of the National Genealogical Society, St. Louis Genealogical Society, African American Research Collection, and Jewish Genealogical Society.
 * St. Louis Missouri Family History Center has premium online services for free, can offer research suggestions, and can order genealogical microfilms from the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.
 * St. Louis Mercantile Library, St. Louis, early newspapers, railroads, inland waterways, county records, biographies, and genealogies. A premier library for Missouri research.
 * German American Heritage Society of St. Louis exploring and preserving heritage.
 * Missouri History Museum Library, St. Louis, excellent collection of early Missouri and Illinois records. 90,000 books, periodicals, St. Louis newspapers, fire insurance maps, city directories, St. Louis people, western fur trade, and Missouri history.
 * St. Louis African American History and Genealogy Society collects, preserves, and publishes genealogical and historical records.
 * Clayton Historical Society, Clayton, collects artifacts and documents.
 * U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri, St. Louis, civil/criminal/bankruptcy court records.
 * Repositories in surrounding counties in Missouri:  Franklin, Jefferson, St. Charles, St. Louis County, Independent City:  St. Louis City, counties in Illinois: Madison, Monroe, and St. Clair
 * Missouri Vital Records, Jefferson City, births/deaths from 1910; marriages/divorces from 1948.
 * State Historical Society of Missouri at Cape Girardeau, Columbia, Kansas City, Rolla, St. Louis, and Springfield. Good Missouri genealogy collection of 460,000 books, 500,000 manuscripts, 150,000 archival records, 2,900 maps, databases, art, census, newspapers, oral history, and photos.
 * Missouri State Archives, Jefferson City, a "user-friendly" facility with original county records from all counties, photos, census, land, military, and penitentiary records. Databases:  births/deaths pre-1910, deaths 1910-1963, soldiers 1812-1918, coroners inquests, land patents, and naturalizations.
 * Mid-Continent Public Library Midwest Genealogy Center, Independence, MO, one of America's most complete genealogical centers: censuses and indexes, 80,000 family histories, 100,000 local histories, 565,000 microfilms, 7,000 maps, and newspapers. Surrounding states are well represented.
 * Kansas City Public Library Special Collections great genealogy collection for the Missouri Valley with biographies, periodicals, genealogies, diaries, photos, scrapbooks, and newspapers of KC area.
 * Repositories in other surrounding states: Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Tennessee
 * Harrison County Historical Museum, Marshall, TX, a key repository for locating selected early Missouri  and Texas  settlers. This was a center for Missouri Confederate soldiers during the Civil War. It has a great collection of family folders, books, letters, diaries, journals, and surname lists.