Spokane County, Washington Genealogy Records

Selected record inventories for Spokane 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
1858
County seat
Spokane
Adams CountyFerry CountyLincoln CountyPend Oreille CountyStevens CountyWhitman CountySpokane CountyLincolnSpokane
Spokane CountyToday's boundaries · U.S. Census Bureau

Listed record inventories

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

Marriages, births and deaths

Census records

Other records

County government

Deeds and land

Military records

Naturalization records

Newspapers and directories

Cemeteries and burial

See the repository's descriptions and search options

Repository access note: Selected digital collection links from Washington State Library county research guides. Collections may include local towns, schools, cemeteries and other organizations within the county. Guide dates can change; consult each Digital Archives collection for actual coverage, restrictions and available images.

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 Spokane 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 auditor and the clerk of the superior court.

  • The county auditor

    Deeds and other land records, and marriage licenses.

  • The clerk of the superior court

    Probate (wills and estates), divorces, naturalizations and court cases.

  • The Washington State Archives

    In Olympia and regional branches: county records, and the Digital Archives with searchable indexes.

  • Washington State Digital Archivesfree

    Searchable indexes to Washington records, including births, marriages, deaths, censuses and naturalizations, from the State Archives.

  • FamilySearch Catalogfree

    Search by place for "Washington, Spokane" 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: Walla Walla County

Check the parent county for earlier records: Walla Walla County

Later formed partly from Spokane County: Lincoln County

SnohomishKingPierceLewisSkamaniaKlickitatYakimaWhatcomWhitmanStevensColumbiaWalla WallaSpokaneSpokaneSnohomishKingPierceLewisKlickitatWhatcomColumbia
Spokane boundary in 1879Today's boundaryBoundaries: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries

The Atlas data for Spokane County begins in 1879, later than the 1858 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 1858, search the parent county. The Atlas of Historical County Boundaries shows each boundary change.

Research tip

Washington began statewide registration of births and deaths in 1907. Many county marriage, birth, death and census records are indexed free in the Washington State Digital Archives.