FAQs

The Wyoming State Archives welcomes donations of personal or organizational records.  We want our research collections to show the governmental and the personal and professional sides of life in Wyoming.  Your documents reveal that history in ways that no official records can.  We are interested in considering letters, photographs, signs, memoirs and interviews, maps, fiction, videos, and other documents about Wyoming for addition to our collections. 

To offer your materials, please fill out this temporary receipt and send it to Sara Davis (or 2301 Central Ave, Cheyenne 82002 or 307-777-8691.)

The State Archives does not collect artifacts such as clothing, furniture, toys, medals or artwork.  For those donations, please contact the Wyoming State Museum at: http://wyomuseum.state.wy.us/Collections/Donate.aspx

If your transcript has been transferred to the Wyoming State Archives, please fill out our High School Transcript Request form (below) and mail or fax it to us, along with $4.00 and a copy of your driver’s license or military ID.

We try to mail or fax transcripts out within 2 business days of receiving your request and payment. If you are in Cheyenne, you can visit the Archives and make your request in person.

What if I earned my GED?

• The Wyoming State Archives does not hold GED records, with the exception of those earned through the Wyoming Boy’s School. Please contact the Community College Commission at (307) 777-5897.
   

What about elementary or junior high/middle school records?

• Elementary and junior high/middle school transcripts are not considered permanent records and in most cases were neither retained by the school nor transferred to the Archives.
• ​ Some pre-1990s high school transcripts do include elementary and junior high/middle school grades, but availability cannot be guaranteed.
   

Can I get a copy of my high school diploma?

• The Wyoming State Archives cannot provide a replacement copy of your diploma. The one you received when you graduated is the only one that was printed. Please contact your high school about reprinting it.
• If you need proof of your graduation, consider requesting a copy of your high school transcript which will include your graduation date.
   

Do you have my special education file?

• No, we do not have special education files or learning disability test scores. These records are with the Department of Education.  Contact them at:  
  Wyoming Department of Education 
  Division of Individual Learning
  122 W. 25th Street, Suite E200, Cheyenne, WY  82002
  307-777-3530

If the certificate has become an open public record, meaning the certificate is over 100 years old if a birth certificate or over 50 years old for a marriage, divorce or death certificate, please provide:

• Individual’s name
• Type of certificate (birth, marriage, divorce, death)
• Date of event
• Location of event (county and/or city)

If you do not have exact information, please provide all that you do have.Prior to 1941, we do not have a statewide marriage or divorce index. These records were kept at the county level, so you will need an idea of which county to search. Due to staffing restrictions, we are unable to search all 23 counties.

In the case of divorce records, other than state certificates issued after 1941, please contact the county clerk of district court to obtain a docket number for the case file. Many court records have been transferred to the Archives but most courts have retained their indices. (See below for how to request court cases)

See our Vital Records section for more information.

Please contact the court of origin first to be sure that the docket or case file has been transferred to us.

When you request the file with us, please provide:

• County of origin
• Court of origin (municipal, circuit, Justice of the Peace, district, supreme)
• Docket or case number
• File type (civil, criminal, probate)
• Name on the case.

For example, “Sheridan County District Court civil case number #970 for the divorce of William F. and Louisa Cody.”

In most cases, court files in our possession will require 48 hours to arrive from our off-site facility, so please plan accordingly. We do not know how large a file is or what it will or will not contain until we receive the case from the off-site facility.

We do not check out court cases to individuals or allow the files to leave the Reading Room unless the court of origin has requested their return. Certified copies can be made by staff.

What if I am missing some of the information?

If you do not have a piece of the needed information, please contact the court of origin. In most cases, the courts have retained the indexes so we are unable to search by name. The records transferred to us are organized by case number either in their original paper files or on microfilm. None of the case files in our holding have been digitized and we do not have access to a statewide computer database, nor individual databases for each court.

How do I contact the courts?

The Wyoming Supreme Court provides a current list of district and circuit courts and their contact information on their website. Contact information for municipal courts can usually be found by searching online for the individual court.

• District Courts
• Circuit Courts

The State of Wyoming does not maintain an immunization record database. In most cases, immunization records were maintained by schools in student files, which may have been transferred to the Wyoming State Archives. Your school files will have followed you to your last high school attended.

To request a copy of your immunization record:

Please fill out our Immunization Record Request Form (below) and mail or fax it to us, along with a copy of your driver’s license or military ID. There is no charge for copies of immunization records that are separate from transcripts. We may contact you for payment if your immunization records are included on your transcript.

We try to mail or fax immunization records out within 2 business days of receiving your request. If you are in Cheyenne, you can visit the Archives and make your request in person.

We may not have your immunization records if:

• You did not attend high school in Wyoming
• You graduated before your school district considered immunization records permanent (pre-1985 in most cases)
• You received immunizations after leaving high school

Where else can I check for my immunization records?

• Your pediatrician or other physicians
• Military records
• Colleges & universities you attended
• Out-of-state high schools attended

Beyond the basic birth, marriage, divorce and death certificates, the Wyoming State Archive’s collection is a wealth of primary and secondary sources for family research. Check out our Genealogy Resources section for more information.

    Take a look at this page: Get a Copy page

[Item description], [Collection number], [Collection name], Wyoming State Archives.

The best place to start is Find It In the Archives.  Here we list all the ways you can search our collections, including our digitized information.  Some items can only be searched in the Archives, or by our staff.  Please feel free to Contact Us to find out more.

No, an appointment is not necessary to research at the Archives, but 48 hours’ notice may be necessary to view some documents as not all of our records are housed on-site. Court cases, most state government records and some county government records are stored at our off-site facility and must be brought to the Reading Room for research.  Check out our Plan Your Visit page for more information.

Staff and dedicated volunteers can assist with research and make copies. We just ask that you keep the size of your request manageable, as we are only able to devote 1 staff hour to each person’s request. Contact Us to send us an email or find our phone or mailing contact information.