Request a Record

The Archives have sacramental registers of pioneer priests (1848-1900), early sacramental registers of St. James Church, Vancouver, Washington (1838-1890), as well as other 19th and early 20th century sacramental registers of churches and institutions, such as Cabrini Hospital.

Sacramental records are private in nature (Canon 535) and access is restricted to the individuals who have received the sacraments. However, access is unrestricted to those records created 90 years prior to January 1 of the current year.

See here for a list of sacramental registers currently held in the Archives. If the location and date you are searching for is not listed in this inventory, please contact the church directly using our parish finder.

To request a sacramental record for yourself or your child (under the age of 18):

1. Please contact the parish where the sacrament was celebrated. You can find the parish contact information here.

2. If that parish no longer exists or they have indicated your record is in the Archives, fill out the Sacramental Record Request Form.

An inventory of sacramental registers held in the archives can be viewed here.

If you are unsure where/when you celebrated a sacrament, please call 206-382-4352 or email archives@seattlearch.org for assistance.

Please note that these instructions are for requesting the record of someone other than yourself. To request your own record, please go to Request a Sacramental Record for Yourself.

Submit the online Sacramental Records Request Form.

Keep in mind that only records created 90 years prior to January 1 of the current year are available for genealogical and other research, provided the subjects of the inquiry are deceased.

See our Sacramental Records Policy for more information.

Sacramental data is given through certificates only. Due to privacy and preservation issues, we do not allow direct access to sacramental records or photocopying specific pages from the registers.