FamilySearch Adds 812,746 Indexed New Jersey Naturalization Records
Archive News · New Jersey naturalizations
In its September 9, 2026, update, FamilySearch listed New Jersey, Naturalization Records, 1796-1991 as a new collection with 812,746 indexed records. The records come from the US District Court for the District of New Jersey and are free to search with a FamilySearch account.
What is in the collection
The collection includes declarations of intention, petitions for naturalization and related papers filed in the federal court for New Jersey. Indexing makes the records searchable by name. Some images may have been browsable before, so think of this as a new way in rather than a new set of documents.
Why it matters for Polish-American research
New Jersey had large Polish communities in Newark, Jersey City, Bayonne, Passaic, Trenton and Camden. Federal naturalization papers filed after 1906 ask for the town of birth, which is often the first record in America that names the village in Poland.
How to search it
- Search the surname with and without Polish letters, and try the spellings used in the census.
- Use an approximate birth year and the county of residence to narrow the results.
- Open the image, not just the index: the petition and declaration can disagree, and both matter.
- If your ancestor naturalized in a state or county court, look for those records separately.
Sources and research tools
- FamilySearch: New Free Historical Records from 31 Countries, September 2026 Update
- FamilySearch: New Jersey, Naturalization Records, 1796-1991
How we can help
When a change opens a new record for your family, we can fold it into a research project: we order or read the record, compare it with your other documents and follow the trail to the parish in Poland. See the research projects for scope and prices.
Keep reading
How to read a naturalization petition
