Brazil Archives and Libraries

This section describes the major repositories of genealogical and historical records and sources for Brazil.

Archival Research
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
 * Private and public libraries
 * Historical and genealogical societies

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

The Biblioteca Nacional (National Library) and state and city public archives also have:

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. Online: 


 * 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. Volume 2 has information of the collections in the National Archives, in Rio de Janeiro. WorldCat

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. For help writing to a Portuguese archive, use the Portuguese Letter-Writing Guide.

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

Arquivo Nacional (National Archive) Praça da Republica 173 Centro RIO DE JANEIRO 20211-350 Brazil Tel Fax: (55)(21)2179-1228 E-mail: [mailto:arquivonacional@rio.com.br arquivonacional@rio.com.br] Website

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 Website

Endangered Archives: Brazil

State Archives
In Brazil each state has its own archives. Records of genealogical value at state archives may include the following:

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:

Diocese Archives
Brazil holds fourty-four ecclesiastical provinces, divided into 215 dioceses and 45 archdioceses, each of which has many records of genealogical and historical value for its regions. . Some dioceses of the Catholic Church have gathered copies of local parish church records into the diocese archives.

Archdioceses and dioceses records usually include:
 * Chaplaincy records (registros de capelania)
 * Dispensations (dispensas)
 * Ecclesiastical court matters
 * Inquisition records (diligências de habilitação/inquisição)
 * Marriage processes (processos de casamento)
 * Marriage bonds/banns (dispensos de matrimônio e casamentos)
 * Parish censuses (censos/confessados)
 * Parish registers (registros paroquiales)
 * Pedigree records (autos de genere)
 * Priesthood ordinations (ordenações do sacerdócio)
 * Wills (testamentos)

Catholic Church records less than 100 years old are usually kept by the local parish, which may also have earlier records. Some of these records have been microfilmed by the FamilySearch Library, and are found through the FamilySearch catalog.

For records not available through the FamilySearch Library, you can write to these archives and request brief searches of their records. Use the Portuguese Letter-Writing Guide. For additional information, see Brazil Church Records.

For addresses to the archdioceses' archives, visit the Wikipedia page List of Catholic Dioceses in Brazil. From there, you can find contact information for the dioceses, usually in the right sidebar.

Libraries and Archives of Portugal
Some pre-1822 sources for Brazil are also available in libraries in Portugal and are listed below. Please click on the link for more information:
 * Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo
 * Arquivo Histórico Militar
 * Biblioteca e Arquivo Central de Marinha
 * Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino (Historical Oversea Archive)
 * Biblioteca da Ajuda (Library of Assistance)
 * Biblioteca Nacional (National Library)

Private and Public Libraries
Brazilian libraries have collected published sources such as local histories, phone directories, maps, newspapers, and genealogies.

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 Website
 * The National Library has an extensive collection of manuscripts and published sources.

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

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] Website

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 Brazil Civil Registration.

If records are not available through the FamilySearch 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.

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 Brazil Societies.