El Paso County, Colorado Genealogy Records

Selected record inventories for El Paso County, their listed years, and where to ask for access.

Selected inventory review: 2026-11-02. Selected collection metadata checked against repository catalog descriptions. This is not a complete holdings audit, examination of original records, or certification of current access. See the access note for limitations. Repository catalog or holdings guide

Formed
1859
County seat
Colorado Springs
Bent CountyChaffee CountyClear Creek CountyCrowley CountyCuster CountyDenver CountyDouglas CountyElbert CountyFremont CountyGrand CountyHuerfano CountyJefferson CountyKiowa CountyLincoln CountyOtero CountyPark CountyPueblo CountySaguache CountySummit CountyTeller CountyWashington CountyArapahoe CountyEl Paso CountyCrowleyCusterDouglasElbertFremontLincolnParkPuebloArapahoeEl Paso
El Paso CountyParent county (search here for earlier records)Today's boundaries · U.S. Census Bureau

Listed record inventories

Selected holdings and indexes for El Paso County, checked against the repository descriptions linked below. Date spans may contain gaps; an index is not a complete set of original records.

Tax records

County government

Marriages, births and deaths

Deeds and land

Court records

Naturalization records

Wills and estates

See the repository's descriptions and search options

Repository access note: Selected county and court series from the Colorado State Archives 2013 Finding Aids Quick Index. Only unambiguous dated rows marked Open in that historical index are included. That label does not certify current access. Confirm custody and restrictions with the Archives. Spans summarize separate storage units and may contain gaps.

Sources: the catalogs and repository descriptions linked on the entries above. Selected inventories do not establish complete coverage of every record type or online access to original documents. Read the repository access note for source dates and limitations.

Where to find the records

  • Find El Paso County's official website

    We haven't checked this county's website yet, so this opens a web search. Look for an address ending in .gov, then find the county clerk and recorder and the district court.

  • The county clerk and recorder

    Deeds and other land records, and marriage licenses.

  • The district court

    Probate (wills and estates) in every county but Denver, which has its own probate court, plus divorces and civil cases.

  • The Colorado State Archives

    In Denver: county and court records, territorial records and indexes.

  • Colorado State Archivesfree

    The state archives in Denver, with county, court and territorial records and indexes to many of them.

  • FamilySearch Catalogfree

    Search by place for "Colorado, El Paso" to find filmed and digitized records, many viewable free online with a FamilySearch account.

Offices change their hours and access rules; call before you visit.

Boundaries and parent counties

Formed from: Arapahoe County (Kansas Territory, extinct)

Check the parent county for earlier records: Arapahoe County

Later formed partly from El Paso County: Teller County

Colorado TerritoryEL PasoEL Paso
EL Paso boundary in 1861Today's boundaryBoundaries: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries

The Atlas data for El Paso County begins in 1861, later than the 1859 date above, so this is the earliest boundary on file, not its original one.

Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1859, search the parent county. The Atlas of Historical County Boundaries shows each boundary change.

Research tip

A 1907 law set up statewide registration of births and deaths in Colorado; the state's own records begin with deaths in 1900 and births in 1910. Before 1861 the area was part of Kansas, Nebraska, Utah and New Mexico territories, so an early settler's records can be in any of them.