Research Guidelines

Researchers should contact the parish or (arch)diocese in which the sacramental record was created.

Due to the private nature of sacramental records, CAT does not publish or share sacramental records with outside agencies and cannot facilitate with requests to submit records online.

CAT does not have access to subscription genealogy databases including Ancestry or FamilySearch; consequently staff cannot assist with locating genealogy records online.

Directly submit a sacramental record request to the parish in which you received the sacrament. Each parish or (arch)diocese will have a policy regarding the request for a record on behalf of another. Contact the parish or (arch)diocese for further details. For assistance with contacting a parish, directly contact the (arch)diocese for that parish.

If you know the location of other sacraments you have received, such as confirmation or marriage, contact that parish directly to inquiry of your known sacraments. Some non-baptismal records include the place and date of a baptism.

If you attended a Catholic school, request your school record to inquire the date/location of your sacraments. A school record may be obtained via a request to the school you attended and/or an (arch)diocese.

Additionally, you may directly contact a parish in which you believe you may have been baptized to request a search for your record. For further assistance, contact the (arch)diocese in which you believe you may have been baptized.

Sacramental records are handwritten records and stored at a parish or diocesan archive; therefore, it is advised to first contact the parish in which you made a sacrament to submit any changes.