Ask An Archivist

The Digital Archives will be performing system maintenance on Wednesday, November 20th beginning at 5:00 PM PST and ending at 8:00 PM PST. During this time our ecommerce system will be unavailable. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Use the contact information below to reach the Washington State Archives. Please observe the following guidelines while placing a request:

  • Please be as specific as possible in describing your request, including dates or date ranges, locations, and/or names of individuals, if available.
  • There is no charge to place a research request with the Archives. Additionally, there is no charge for simple retrieval of documents. If a particular request appears to warrant research fees, Archives staff will notify the researcher before proceeding.
  • There is no fee for individuals to conduct research in person at the archives. For more information, please view the Archives' fees and research policies.
  • The Archives makes every effort to respond to all requests within one business day.

State and Southwest Regional Branch

State agency records and local government records from Clark, Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, Lewis, Mason, Pacific, Skamania, Thurston, and Wahkiakum counties

research@sos.wa.gov

(360) 586-1492

Central Regional Branch

Local government records from Benton, Chelan, Douglas, Franklin, Grant, Kittitas, Klickitat, Okanogan, and Yakima counties

CEBranchArchives@sos.wa.gov

(509) 963-2136

Eastern Regional Branch

Local government records from Adams, Asotin, Columbia, Ferry, Garfield, Lincoln, Pend Oreille, Spokane, Stevens, Walla Walla, and Whitman counties

EABranchArchives@sos.wa.gov

(509) 235-7500 Ext.100

Northwest Regional Branch

Local government records from Clallam, Island, Jefferson, San Juan, Skagit, Snohomish, and Whatcom counties

NWBranchArchives@sos.wa.gov

(360) 650-3125

Puget Sound Regional Branch

Local government records from King, Kitsap and Pierce counties

PSBranchArchives@sos.wa.gov

(425) 564-3940