Ancestry is the world's largest online family history resource, with billions of historical records from around the globe. While we can't list all our record collections here, this article will show you how to explore them—with or without a membership*—to see the record collections we have from the locations you're interested in.

*A membership is required to view individual records in most collections. Different memberships grant access to different records. View our membership options.

Exploring record collections from specific locations

To see the record collections we have from a specific location:

Go to the card catalog.
On the left, find Filter by Location.
Choose a region and continue filtering until you get the location you're interested in.
Browse the list of results to see our record collections for that location.
(Optional) Select a collection to read more about it.

Exploring location-based research pages

On our location-based research pages, you can find details like record collections, history, and resources for a specific place (e.g., Scotland). To access these:

From any Ancestry page, click Search and select All Collections.
Scroll down to Explore by location.
Choose a world region and then select a location.
Use the Collections, History, and Resources tabs at the top or options on the right to explore further.

Frequently asked questions

What is a record collection?
A record collection on Ancestry is a group of related historical records, like birth certificates, census data, or immigration documents. These records may come from one or more sources and are grouped to help you search and find information more easily.

Why don’t you have any/more records for a certain place?
The number of records we have for each location depends on several factors, including:

Privacy laws: Some countries have strict rules about when historical records can be made public, especially if they involve people who may still be alive. For example, U.S. census records are sealed for 72 years, and U.K. census records are sealed for 100 years. These rules are meant to protect people’s privacy while balancing access to historical information.
Accessibility and condition: Some records are hard to access or digitize due to their condition, location, or other constraints. For example, in 1921, most of the 1890 U.S. census was destroyed by a fire.
Permissions: Some governments and organizations don’t allow certain records to be accessed, digitized, or shared by others. For example, Scotland's civil registration records are managed by Scotland and can be accessed on their website, Scotland's People.
- In cases like these, we can sometimes provide an index of the information. To find the related original documents, check the index’s Source and Collection Information for details on who to contact or where to view them, if available.

We’re always working to expand our collections and make more records available. If there’s a specific record collection you’d like to see, let us know here.

Are there other records from the location I’m interested in?
We’re always expanding our collections, so there may be records for a location we haven’t added yet. If you don’t find what you're looking for, check back later, as we update our collections regularly. If there’s a specific record you’d like to see, let us know here.

In the meantime:

Explore our location-based research pages for historical insights and additional resources.
If you have a membership, check out our public member trees. These may contain details and record images added by other members specific to the people you’re researching. If you find a helpful tree, consider messaging the owner to collaborate and learn more.

How do I limit my search results to records from a specific location?
To focus your search on records from a specific location, read Searching by Location.