Atlanta Genealogy Records
Atlanta genealogy records are held at the Fulton County Probate Court and Superior Court Clerk in downtown Atlanta. The city also has some of the best genealogy research centers in the Southeast, including the Auburn Avenue Research Library, the Atlanta History Center, and the Atlanta Municipal Archives. Birth records for Atlanta date back to 1896. Death records start in 1889. These predate the statewide vital records system by decades, making Atlanta one of the richest cities in Georgia for family history research.
Atlanta Quick Facts
Fulton County Probate Court Records
The Fulton County Probate Court is the main source for Atlanta genealogy records. It holds marriage licenses from 1853 to the present, along with wills, estate files, guardianship records, and letters of administration. Under O.C.G.A. § 15-9-30, the Probate Court has jurisdiction over all estate and marriage records in Fulton County.
Visit the Probate Court Records Division at 136 Pryor Street SW, 2nd Floor C230, Atlanta, GA 30303. The phone number is (404) 612-4640. You can also reach them through the Fulton County Probate Court website. Mail requests need a completed Estates Record Request Form with a $10 search fee. Regular copies cost $1 each. Certified copies are $11 each.
The court takes payments by money order or attorney's check only. Call ahead to confirm current fees, as costs changed on January 1, 2026 under Senate Bill 232.
| Address | 136 Pryor Street SW, 2nd Floor C230, Atlanta, GA 30303 |
|---|---|
| Phone | (404) 612-4640 |
| Website | fultonprobatega.org |
Atlanta Municipal Archives
The Atlanta Municipal Archives at 55 Trinity Avenue SW holds city records that most people overlook. Birth records here go back to 1896. Death records start in 1889. These are separate from the state vital records system and can fill gaps when state records are missing.
The archives also have city directories, tax records, and other documents tied to Atlanta's government. City directories are especially useful for genealogy. They list residents by name and address each year. You can track when someone arrived in Atlanta, where they lived, and what they did for work. These details help connect the dots between census years.
Access is free. Call ahead to schedule a visit if you plan to look at specific collections.
Auburn Avenue Research Library
The Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History is at 101 Auburn Avenue NE. The phone number is (404) 613-4001. This is one of a handful of research centers in the country that focuses on African American genealogy and history.
The library holds manuscripts, photos, oral histories, and rare documents. For genealogy research in Atlanta, the African American family history collection is one of a kind. Staff can help you use the collections and point you to records you might not find on your own. Access is free and open to the public.
If you are tracing African American ancestry in Atlanta or anywhere in Georgia, start here. The collections cover local, regional, and national history.
Atlanta History Center
The Atlanta History Center at 130 West Paces Ferry Road NW has research archives open to the public. Call (404) 814-4000 or visit the Atlanta History Center website for hours and access details. The Kenan Research Center inside the History Center holds maps, photos, manuscripts, and personal papers from Atlanta families going back to the 1800s.
This is not a courthouse. But the collections here fill in details that court records miss. Letters, diaries, business records, and photos can tell you things about your ancestors that no legal document will. The center charges an admission fee for exhibits, but research access may have different rules. Call first.
Georgia Archives and National Archives
Two major archives serve Atlanta genealogy researchers. The Georgia Archives is at 5800 Jonesboro Road in Morrow, about 15 miles south of downtown. Call (678) 364-3710 for hours. The Georgia Archives holds microfilmed county records, vital records, military records, land grants, and much more. Free access to Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, and Fold3 is available in the search room.
The National Archives at Atlanta is at 1557 St. Joseph Avenue in East Point. Call (404) 763-7477. This branch holds federal records for the southeastern United States, including census records, military service files, immigration records, and federal court cases. If your Atlanta ancestors served in the military, filed a federal tax return, or passed through immigration, these records may be here.
The Virtual Vault gives you free online access to some Georgia Archives collections from home. Death certificates from 1919 to 1943 are available there. So are Confederate pension applications, county maps, and the Vanishing Georgia photo collection.
The Georgia Probate Courts directory shows court contact information for all 159 Georgia counties, including the Fulton County Probate Court that serves Atlanta.
Vital Records and Online Access
The Fulton County Vital Records Office is at 141 Pryor Street SW, Suite 1029A, Atlanta, GA 30303. Call (404) 613-1260. Birth certificates cost $25 for the first copy and $5 for each extra copy. Death certificates are the same price.
Under O.C.G.A. § 31-10-26, certified birth certificates are only available to the person named, parents, grandparents, adult siblings, adult children, spouses, or legal guardians. Death certificates are more widely available. For genealogy, death certificates are often easier to get and still very useful. They list the person's name, date and place of death, parents' names, and burial information.
You can also search Atlanta genealogy records online through the E-Access to Court Records system. Registration is free. Basic case data costs nothing to view. If you need actual documents, the first page costs $2.50 and each page after that is $1.00. Under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71, the Georgia Open Records Act sets limits on what agencies can charge for copies of public records.
FamilySearch has free indexed records for Georgia marriages from 1754 to 1960, probate records from 1742 to 1990, and death records from 1914 to 1943. The Georgia Historic Newspapers archive has over a million pages of old newspapers with obituaries, legal notices, and family announcements tied to Atlanta.
Tips for Atlanta Genealogy Research
Start with what you know. Write down names, dates, and places. Then work backward one generation at a time.
Census records are a good next step. Federal census data from 1820 to 1950 is available at the Georgia Archives through Ancestry.com. Keep in mind that the 1890 census was mostly destroyed in a fire. For that gap, use Atlanta city directories and tax digests to track your family.
Atlanta sits in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. If your ancestors lived on the east side of Atlanta, their records may be in DeKalb County instead. Check both courthouses if you can't find what you need in Fulton County alone. Boundary lines in Georgia shifted often in the 1800s, so an ancestor counted in one county might appear in a different county a decade later.
- Check cemetery records when vital records are missing
- Search church records for baptisms and burials
- Use city directories to track family members between census years
- Look at the Vanishing Georgia photo collection at the Georgia Archives
- Try the Atlanta Municipal Archives for pre-1919 birth and death records
Fulton County Genealogy Records
Atlanta is the county seat of Fulton County. All marriage licenses, probate records, land deeds, and court cases for the city are filed at the Fulton County courthouse in downtown Atlanta. Fulton County records go back to 1853 when the county was formed.
Nearby Georgia Cities
These cities are near Atlanta. Each has its own page with local genealogy resources and courthouse information.