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VSARA
Secretary of State Office
26 Terrace St.
Montpelier, Vt.
05609-1101
Naturalization Records

BRIEF BACKGROUND TO NATURALIZATION RECORDS IN VERMONT

Naturalization is the process by which U.S. citizenship is conferred upon a foreign citizen or national after he or she fulfills the requirements established by Congress in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). On September 27, 1906, a Federal law regarding naturalization became effective. All courts, for the first time, were required to ask the same questions on the same forms and a copy of all naturalizations had to be forwarded to the Immigration and Naturalization Service in Washington. After this date, most naturalization hearings occurred either in a Federal Court or a county court, as municipal courts lost their authority to naturalize. Prior to 1906, individuals could petition a Federal, county, or municipal court for naturalization. See the National Archives website and the Colorado GenWeb Project for more information on the history of naturalization records.

ACCESSING NATURALIZATION RECORDS OF INDIVIDUALS NATURALIZED IN VERMONT

Some naturalization records have been transferred into the Vermont State Archives. (See list of record series below.)  In addition to these records, several Vermont Superior Courts have retained custody of naturalization records for hearings heard in their respective counties. Vermont District Courts may also have some naturalization records from the former municipal courts. A list of present-day Vermont courts is available at: http://www.vermontjudiciary.org/

For individuals naturalized in Vermont by a Federal court before or after 1906, copies of their naturalization records are at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Records Center in Waltham, MA. Copies of post-1906 naturalization records from State courts remain in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service. The Vermont State Archives recommends reviewing records in the custody of the Vermont State Archives, National Archives, and Vermont Superior Courts prior to seeking records through the Immigration and Naturalization Service in Washington.

For more information about our naturalization records, see the following series descriptions and container lists in our record series database:

ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS?

Additional questions may be directed to: or by phone at 802-828-2308.

Web content maintained by Christie Carter at: ; This page was last updated on: 2008-12-05.