Which books in the FamilySearch Digital Library require access rights?

Article Id: 1041
April 29, 2024

Part of FamilySearch's mission is to help people discover their family history. One way we do that is to scan family history books and make them more accessible on our website, free of charge.

As we do so, we try to get the broadest possible access for people searching for their ancestors. Much of what we can make available is granted by copyright holders, which means that some records have access restrictions. Our strict adherence to the law and to our agreements builds trust and allows us to make an increasing amount of information available. Continue to check back to see if the information you seek is available. Currently, books are not available for all areas and/or languages.

You can determine a book's restrictions in the FamilySearch Digital Library.

Steps (website)

  1. Go to FamilySearch.org, and sign in.
  2. At the top of the page, click Search.
  3. Click Books.
  4. Search for a book by title or keywords.
  5. The access level displays in each item's search result.
    • Public: The book has no copyright protections and is available to view online without restrictions.
    • Protected: The book has copyright protections. You cannot view it online.
    • Full Permission: The book has copyright protections. The copyright holder granted permission for FamilySearch users to access the book online. You can view, print, and download the book.
    • Limited Permission: The book has copyright protections. You can view it online, but cannot print or download.
    • Member Permission: You can view it online at the FamilySearch Library, a FamilySearch center, or at the library that shared it with FamilySearch. 
  6. To see only books with a specific level of access, filter your search results:
    1. In the left panel, click Access Level.
    2. Click an access level.
    3. To turn off the filter, repeat steps a and b.

Steps (mobile app)

Our mobile apps have no access to the FamilySearch Digital Library. Please use the website instead.

Steps (Family Tree Lite)

Family Tree Lite does not provide access to the FamilySearch Digital Library. Please use the website instead.

How do I find a digitized book in the FamilySearch Digital Library?
Where do I find a FamilySearch center?
Where can I find an affiliate library?

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