The Archives nationales, France’s national archives, are one of the great research institutions of Europe, and a tempting stop on any genealogy trip to Paris. They are also widely misunderstood. Most family history does not live there, the holdings are split across several sites, and an unprepared visit can be a wasted day. This guide explains what the Archives nationales hold, which site to go to, and when your time is better spent elsewhere.
First, the honest answer: do you need them?
For most French family research, no. Birth, marriage, and death registers, parish registers, and census lists are held by the departmental archives in each département, not by the national archives. Start there. See our archives guide. The national archives are most useful when your research has run beyond ordinary vital records, for example when an ancestor’s story involved the state, the law, the army, a notary in Paris, or the colonies.
Three sites, three kinds of record
| Site | Main holdings | Why a genealogist might go |
|---|---|---|
| Pierrefitte-sur-Seine (north of Paris) | Public records from 1789 onward from ministries and national institutions | Nationality and naturalization policy files, ministry records, modern state records |
| Paris (Hôtel de Soubise, in the Marais) | Records of the old regime, and the notarial archives of Paris | Notarial acts for Parisian families, pre-Revolution administrative records |
| Fontainebleau | Electronic and audiovisual archives and rarely consulted material | Rarely relevant to family history |
Confusingly, there are further national sites elsewhere: the Archives nationales d’outre-mer in Aix-en-Provence hold colonial records, and the Archives nationales du monde du travail in Roubaix hold business and labor records. Check which one holds your series before you travel.
Do not confuse them with the Archives de Paris
The Archives de Paris, the city and département’s archives, are a separate institution with their own reading room. They hold Paris records such as the reconstructed civil status before 1860, after the originals were destroyed in 1871. Many Paris family searches belong there, not at the national archives.
What genealogists find at the national archives
- Naturalization and nationality files. The ministries of Justice and the Interior created records on nationality policy that can help trace immigrants and those who became French.
- Paris notarial records. The central collection of Paris notaries’ acts, held at the Paris site, includes marriage contracts, wills, and inventories.
- Old regime administration. Records of the royal government, courts, and institutions.
- The Legion of Honour. A database of holders of the decoration, the Léonore base, can reveal ancestors who were awarded it.
- Colonial and overseas records at Aix-en-Provence, for families connected to the French empire.
Registration: free, with identification
Access to the reading rooms requires a reader’s card. At the Archives nationales the annual reader’s card is free and issued on presentation of an identity document, and the same is true of French archive reading rooms generally, including for foreign visitors. Bring your passport. Check the Archives nationales website for current pre-registration, document-ordering procedures, opening days, and closures, all of which can change.
How to prepare so the day is not wasted
- Find your series first. Use the online inventories to identify the document references (cotes) you want. The national archives have a virtual inventory room for exactly this purpose.
- Confirm the site. The same family’s papers may be in different sites depending on the date and type.
- Order in advance where possible, because stored documents may take time to be brought to the reading room.
- Know the rules. Archive reading rooms generally allow only pencil, require silence, and restrict bags. See our checklist for visiting French archives.
- Plan a full day. The Pierrefitte site is outside central Paris, so allow travel time.
When to skip the national archives
- You are looking for an ordinary birth, marriage, or death. Use the departmental archives or the commune.
- You do not yet know the commune. Find it first. See finding the commune of origin.
- Your ancestor lived and died in a village. The departmental archives and the mairie will be more useful.
- You can find what you need online. Many series are digitized, and the FranceArchives portal is a good place to search before traveling.
Making the most of a Paris stop
If you are in Paris anyway, consider pairing an archive visit with the Archives de Paris, and plan a day in each place rather than trying to cover everything. Our sample seven-day itinerary shows how a Paris stop can fit with a village visit, and our guide to visiting your ancestral village covers the rest.
Illustrative composite (not a real family): A researcher from Texas learns that her great-grandfather, who emigrated in 1912, appears in a naturalization policy file she cannot access online. She identifies the series in the online inventory, confirms it is held at Pierrefitte, registers with her passport, and orders the box before her trip. On the day, the file turns up one useful letter and a reference that sends her to another record.
For the overall research method, return to our complete guide to tracing French ancestry.
Common questions
- Can I search without traveling? Yes, partly. Many inventories are online, and the FranceArchives portal lets you search finding aids before you decide to go.
- Do I need to speak French? It helps. Staff are used to foreign researchers, but inventories and forms are in French. See our French phrases for a genealogy trip.
- May I photograph documents? Many reading rooms allow personal photography without flash, but rules differ by site and series, so ask at the desk.
- How long should I allow? A full day for one site is realistic, with extra time to travel to Pierrefitte.
A realistic plan for the day
- Arrive at opening, register, and leave your bag in the lockers.
- Order the first documents on your list and review inventories while you wait.
- Read, note, and photograph the documents that matter, in order of priority.
- Order more documents, keeping within the limits for simultaneous requests.
- Use the last hour to record references and plan what to order next time.
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