Research at the National Archives

Using Department of State Records

What’s Online

  • Description of how Department of State records are organized and what finding aids are available. For a consolidated report, download this finding aid.
  • ARC provides a description of archival holdings by record group, collection, series, and in some cases down to the file units and individual item level; though most records in ARC are described at a higher (more general) level.
  • Records relating to World War II Era Refugees.
  • Foreign Policy/Diplomacy links from the Archives Library Information Center (ALIC).
  • View Department of State Cables from 1973–1976, using AAD. You can see the press release, too.
  • Read notice about how to access Department of State Records that have been withdrawn during declassification review.

What’s Not Online

Copies of Department of State documents (aside from the small number that have been digitized in ARC and the records available through AAD).

Contact Us

National Archives staff are available to do limited research about the records and to answer specific questions. Mail your request to:

Archives II Reference Section (RD-DC), Room 2400
The National Archives at College Park
8601 Adelphi Road
College Park, MD 20740–6001

By e–mail: archives2reference@nara.gov

If you send enough information, we may be able to make a specific search and provide information for ordering copies.

Hire a Researcher

Researchers specializing in Diplomatic Records

PDF files require the free Adobe Reader.
More information on Adobe Acrobat PDF files is available on our Accessibility page.

Research at the National Archives >

The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
1-86-NARA-NARA or 1-866-272-6272