Search Kansas City Genealogy Records

Kansas City genealogy records are held at Jackson County offices, the Midwest Genealogy Center, and several major research institutions across the metro area. The city spans primarily Jackson County but also extends into Platte and Clay counties, so researchers may need to check more than one location depending on where an ancestor lived.

Records Are Kept at Jackson County

For most Kansas City residents, genealogy records are held at Jackson County. The county has two courthouse locations: one in Kansas City for the Western District and one in Independence for the Eastern District. Both hold marriage, land, court, and probate records going back to 1827. The Kansas City office is at 415 E. 12th St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The Independence office is at 308 W. Kansas, Independence, MO 64050. The phone for the Recorder of Deeds is 816-881-1572.

Jackson County marriage records begin in 1827, and land records also date from that year. These are among the oldest surviving records in western Missouri. The Circuit Clerk for the Western District in Kansas City holds court and divorce records from 1827 and probate records from the same year. If your ancestor lived in what is now the eastern part of Kansas City, records may be in the Independence courthouse. Both offices are open Monday through Friday during regular business hours.

Kansas City also extends into Platte County to the north and Clay County across the Missouri River. If an ancestor lived in those parts of the city, land, marriage, and court records would be at those respective county courthouses. Platte County records are in Platte City, and Clay County records are in Liberty. Checking a historical map to confirm which county a neighborhood fell in can save real time. The Jackson County Historical Society maintains address files that can help pinpoint the right district for a given property.

Note: Jackson County has two county seats. Which courthouse you need depends on whether the ancestor lived in the western or eastern part of the county.

Vital Records in Kansas City

Birth and death certificates for Kansas City residents are available through the Jackson County Health Department. Birth certificates go back to 1920 at the local level, and death certificates to 1980. For records before those dates, contact the Missouri Bureau of Vital Records at 930 Wildwood Dr., Jefferson City, MO, phone (573) 751-6387. Certified copies cost $15.00 each. The Bureau holds statewide birth and death records from 1910 onward and some earlier records from 1883 to 1893, when Missouri first required registration.

Death certificates from 1910 through 1969 are searchable for free online at Missouri Digital Heritage. The database has over 9 million records statewide, and many Kansas City residents from that era are included. This is often the fastest way to find a death date and burial place without visiting any office in person. The Missouri State Archives in Jefferson City at (573) 751-3280 also holds Jackson County death certificates and can assist with research requests by mail.

Kansas City also maintained its own city death records for parts of the late 1800s and early 1900s. These city-level records, which predate consistent statewide registration, can sometimes fill gaps when state records are missing. They are available through the Missouri State Archives and through local library collections on microfilm.

Midwest Genealogy Center

The Midwest Genealogy Center at 3440 S. Lee's Summit Rd. in Independence is one of the largest genealogy-only libraries in the United States. It is part of the Mid-Continent Public Library System and serves researchers from Kansas City and across the region. The phone number is (816) 252-7228. The center holds a massive print collection covering Missouri and surrounding Midwest states, plus microfilm, maps, and local histories. Staff genealogists are on hand to help with research during open hours.

The center offers free in-library access to Ancestry, which includes billions of records spanning census data, military service, ship manifests, and vital records. HeritageQuest Online is also available, along with dozens of other genealogy databases that would otherwise require paid subscriptions. For any Kansas City researcher, a visit to the Midwest Genealogy Center is often the single most productive step they can take. The collection focuses especially on Missouri, Kansas, and the Great Plains but extends to all U.S. states and many foreign countries. The website is at mymcpl.org/genealogy.

Note: The center is technically in Independence but is close to Kansas City and serves the entire metro area.

Kansas City Local Research Resources

The Kansas City Public Library at kclibrary.org holds a strong local history and genealogy collection. The Missouri Valley Special Collections department maintains Kansas City newspapers, photographs, city directories, and local history books going back to the city's earliest years. City directories from the 1800s list residents by name, occupation, and address long before city-wide phone directories existed. The collection includes Kansas City Star archives and other local papers that can help locate obituaries and family news items.

The Kansas City History research center at kchistory.org maintains collections related to the city's past, including photographs, manuscripts, and organizational records. For researchers looking for family connections to civic groups, businesses, or churches, this can be a useful addition to government record sources. The Jackson County Historical Society at 4001 NE 83rd Terrace, Kansas City, phone 816-252-7454, also holds genealogy files, family histories, and county records transcriptions dating back to the 1800s.

Online Records for Kansas City Residents

Several free online databases are useful for Kansas City genealogy. Missouri Digital Heritage holds death certificates from 1910 to 1969, pre-1910 birth and death records, land records, and military discharge records. The Missouri State Archives maintains Jackson County microfilm and online finding aids to help identify what records survive. FamilySearch at familysearch.org has indexed Jackson County census records from 1850 through 1940, along with some probate and court records from the 1800s. All of these are free to search with no account required.

Missouri Case.net at courts.mo.gov/casenet covers court cases filed in Missouri from November 2003 onward. For older court records involving Kansas City ancestors, you would need to visit the Circuit Clerk's office in person or contact them by mail. The Jackson County MOGenWeb site is a volunteer-run resource with transcribed records, obituaries, and family histories for the county. The Missouri State Genealogical Association at mosga.org connects researchers with county-level societies across the state, including those serving the Kansas City area.

The Missouri State Archives provides online access to thousands of Kansas City and Jackson County records through its digital collections platform.

State archives staff can assist researchers who need help identifying which record series covers a specific ancestor or time period.