Find Records and Information about Records
Our website contains answers to many of the preliminary research-related questions you might have.
- Online archive converter This free online ZIP converter lets you easily compress your files to the ZIP format. You can either upload your file or provide us a link to a file.
- Sep 17, 2021 National Archives Resuming Limited Research Room Operations. The National Archives is starting to resume research room operations. Beginning Monday, August 2, many National Archives research rooms will be open for research on a limited basis. Research visits are by appointment only and require a virtual consultation prior to the onsite visit.
Jul 15, 2021 Regional Archives Holdings Guides and Resources. For links to holdings guides, articles, lists, indexes to files, and other finding aids prepared by the Regions to assist researchers, see our Regional Archives Online Finding Aids page and visit our National Archives locations section. NARA Publications. Published research guides, articles,. Archive Extractor Online. Archive Extractor is a small and easy online tool that can extract over 70 types of compressed files, such as 7z, zipx, rar, tar, exe, dmg and much more. From your computer. From Google Drive Dropbox URL.
- To find copies of Federal records on our website and/or information about the records and their historical context, you will have to look in several places.
- Some sources listed below are databases while others are online guides, publications, and exhibits.
Ways to Search Online
National Archives Catalog
Our National Archives Catalog is the online portal to our records and information about our records. It provides access to data, digitized records, selected series from Access to Archival Databases (AAD), over one million electronic records from the Electronic Records Archives (ERA), all of the web pages from Archives.gov, and all of the web pages from the Presidential Libraries.
Go to the National Archives Catalog
History Hub
Get help with your research and find answers to your questions at History Hub, a crowdsourcing platform sponsored by the National Archives. Experts from the National Archives as well as other experts, history enthusiasts, and citizen archivists are available to help with your research.
Go to History Hub
Microfilm Catalog
This is a searchable database of more than 3,400 numbered microfilm. The described microfilm include those created by or purchased by NARA for researcher use. Determine which rolls of microfilm may be the most relevant for your research at NARA. You can search for microfilm by keyword, microfilm number, Record Group number, and/or location of our nationwide research facilities. Researchers at our research facilities may use this material for free.
Go to the Microfilm Catalog
Access to Archival Databases (AAD)
AAD is a search engine into some of NARA's holdings of electronic records. There are databases and indexes from more than 30 archival series, including over 350 data files totaling well over 50 million unique records; this number will continue to grow. Search by person, geographic areas, organizations, or dates.
Go to AAD
Archives Library Information Center (ALIC)
ALIC, part of the National Archives, provides sources for research about American history and government, archival administration, information management, and government documents to archives and records management professionals, the general public, and National Archives staff. Search their online catalog for holdings of the Archives libraries in Washington, DC and College Park, MD.
Go to ALIC
Additionally, ALIC's Reference at Your Desk feature provides quick access to online resources on many diverse subjects.
Guide to Federal Records
Search NARA's holdings of federal records at a very high level, to identify which record groups may have material relevant to your research topics. This includes records that originated in the executive, judicial, and legislative branches.
Go to the Guide to Federal Records
Finding Aids
Filing Manuals
Filing manuals outline the filing classification systems used by staff in the Army, Navy, Coast Guard, and various departments and agencies of the federal government.
Regional Archives Holdings Guides and Resources
For links to holdings guides, articles, lists, indexes to files, and other finding aids prepared by the Regions to assist researchers, see our Regional Archives Online Finding Aids page and visit our National Archives locations section.
NARA Publications
Published research guides, articles, and papers
These include guides, articles, reference papers, inventories, and more, all designed to help prepare you for your research at NARA.
New Accessions and Openings
View our latest Accessions and Openings for all our locations.
Search by Topic
Research Topics
For many topics, we have included related articles, finding aids, and search tips. Links to online information about selected topics in National Archives records.
Search by Federal Government Agency
Look for the Federal Government organization that created the records you are interested in.
Search by Media Type or Format
Search for records based on media-type or format of the records (such as paper documents, photographs, motion picture film or video, audio recordings, maps and drawings, aerial film, microfilm, databases and electronic records)
If you need to see records that are not available on our website or other websites, you may need to contact us, visit us, or hire an independent researcher to continue your research.
Decide if You Should Visit Us in Person and Plan Your Visit
Microsoft Exchange Online Archiving is a Microsoft 365 cloud-based, enterprise-class archiving solution for organizations that have deployed Microsoft Exchange Server 2019, Microsoft Exchange Server 2016, Microsoft Exchange Server 2013, or subscribe to certain Exchange Online or Microsoft 365 plans. Exchange Online Archiving assists organizations with archiving, compliance, regulatory, and eDiscovery challenges.
As a Microsoft online service, Exchange Online Archiving is designed to help meet the need for robust security, reliability, and user productivity. For more information about Microsoft 365, including features common to all Microsoft online services, see Microsoft 365 and Office 365 platform service description.
Exchange Online Archiving plans
For detailed plan information on subscriptions that enable users for Exchange Online Archiving, see Exchange Online Archiving.
Exchange Online Archiving is available through the following plans.
| Plan | Description |
|---|---|
| Exchange Online Archiving for Exchange Server | Cloud-based archive for users with primary mailboxes in Exchange Server 2019, Exchange Server 2016, Exchange Server 2013, or Exchange 2010 (SP2 or later). If you want to add a cloud-based archive to a primary mailbox that's located on an on-premises Exchange server, you need to configure a hybrid deployment. For more information about hybrid deployments, see Exchange Server hybrid deployments. |
| Exchange Online Archiving for Exchange Server (via Enterprise CAL Suite) | Cloud-based archive for users with primary mailboxes in Exchange Server 2019, Exchange Server 2016, Exchange Server 2013, or Exchange 2010 (SP2 or later). For details, see Client Access Licenses and Management Licenses. |
| Exchange Online Archiving for Exchange Online | Cloud-based archive and in-place hold as an add-on for the following plans1,2,3: • Exchange Online Plan 1 • Exchange Online Kiosk • Microsoft 365 Business Basic • Microsoft 365 Business Standard • Microsoft 365 Business Premium • Office 365 E1 • Office 365 A1 • Office 365 G1 • Office 365 F3 • Microsoft 365 F3 Note: The following plans already include archiving and do not require Exchange Online Archiving as an add-on: • Office 365 A3 • Office 365 A5 • Office 365 E3 • Office 365 E5 • Exchange Online Plan 2 • Microsoft 365 E3 • Microsoft 365 E5 • Microsoft 365 F5 Compliance For details on the archiving capabilities of Exchange Online mailboxes, see Archive features in Exchange Online Archiving. |
1 A hybrid deployment isn't required for cloud-only organizations where no mailboxes are located on an on-premises Exchange server. However, if on-premises mailboxes exist, then hybrid deployment is required.
2 Exchange Online Plan 1, Office 365 E1/A1/G1, and Microsoft 365 Business Basic/Standard/Premium have a size limit on the mailbox and archive. For more information, see Exchange Online limits. Exchange Online Archiving for Exchange Online add-on adds auto-expanding archiving and In-Place Hold and Litigation Hold.
3 Includes GCC, GCC-High, and DoD plans for US Government.
Looking for information about all Microsoft 365 plans? Microsoft 365 is available in a variety of plans to best meet the needs of your organization. For information about different plans, including standalone plan options and information on moving from one plan to another, see Office 365 plan options.
For more information about different plans, see the full subscription comparison table.
Tip
You can export, save, and print pages in the service descriptions. Learn how to export content search results.
Feature availability across Exchange Online Archiving plans
The following table lists the major Exchange Online Archiving features available across plans (certain caveats apply). This table may change without notice. See the footnotes for further information. For the most up-to-date, complete list of features, see Powerful tools to support your enterprise.
| Feature | Exchange Online Archiving for Exchange Server1 | Exchange Online Archiving for Exchange Online2 |
|---|---|---|
| Archive features in Exchange Online Archiving | ||
| Archive mailbox | Yes | Yes |
| Move messages using archive policy | Yes | Yes |
| Import data to the archive | Yes | Yes |
| Deleted item recovery | Yes | Yes |
| Deleted mailbox recovery | Yes | Yes |
| Mailbox backup | Yes | Yes |
| Client features in Exchange Online Archiving | ||
| Outlook3 | Yes | Yes |
| Outlook on the web | Yes | Yes |
| Compliance and security features in Exchange Online Archiving | ||
| Retention policies | Yes | Yes |
| In-Place Hold and Litigation Hold6 | Yes | Yes |
| In-Place eDiscovery | Yes | Yes |
| Encryption between on-premises servers and Exchange Online Archiving | Yes | Yes |
| Encrypting between clients and Exchange Online Archiving | Yes | Yes |
| Encryption: S/MIME and PGP | Yes | Yes |
| IRM using Azure Information Protection | No | No4 |
| IRM using Windows Server AD RMS | Yes5 | Yes5 |
| Auditing | Yes | Yes |
1 User mailboxes must reside on Exchange 2013 or later.
2 An Archive Mailbox can be used only to archive mail for a single user or entity for which a license has been applied. Using an Archive Mailbox as a means to store mail from multiple users or entities is prohibited. For example, IT administrators can't create shared mailboxes and have users copy (through the Cc or Bcc field, or through a transport rule) a shared mailbox for the explicit purpose of archiving.
3 For a list of supported Microsoft Outlook versions, see Client features in Exchange Online Archiving.
4 Azure Information Protection is not included, but can be purchased as a separate add-on and will enable the supported Information Rights Management (IRM) features. Some Azure Information Protection features require a subscription to Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise, which is not included with Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Microsoft 365 Business Standard, Office 365 Enterprise E1, Office 365 Education, or Office 365 Enterprise F3.
5 Windows Server AD RMS is an on-premises server that must be purchased and managed separately in order to enable the supported IRM features.
6 When you put a mailbox on In-Place Hold or Litigation Hold, the hold is placed on both the primary and the archive mailbox.
Licensing terms
For licensing terms and conditions for products and services purchased through Microsoft Commercial Volume Licensing Programs, see the Product Terms site.
Messaging
To keep track of upcoming changes, including new and changed features, planned maintenance, or other important announcements, visit the Message Center. For more information, see Message center.
Accessibility
Microsoft remains committed to the security of your data and the accessibility of our services. For more information, see the Microsoft Trust Center and the Office Accessibility Center.
Learn more
For technical information about Exchange Online Archiving, check out the following resources:
- Learn how to use the compliance center to enable archive mailboxes to support your organization's message retention, eDiscovery, and hold requirements: Enable archive mailboxes in the Security & Compliance Center - Microsoft 365 Compliance.
- Learn about the archive features available in Microsoft Exchange Online Archiving: Archive features in Exchange Online Archiving - Service Descriptions.
- Learn how to create an archiving and deletion policy in Microsoft 365 that automatically moves items to a user's archive mailbox: Set up an archive and deletion policy for mailboxes in your organization - Microsoft 365 Compliance.
- To find the Exchange Online limits for a variety of service areas, including address book, mailbox storage, and reporting and message trace limits, see Exchange Online limits - Service Descriptions.
- Administrators can learn about recovery options for deleted messages and high-level methods that Exchange Online uses to protect mailbox data: Back up email in Exchange Online.
- Administrators can search for and recover deleted email messages in a user's mailbox: Recover deleted messages in a user's mailbox in Exchange Online.
Requirements
To use Exchange Online Archiving for Exchange Server, user mailboxes must reside on Exchange Server 2019, Exchange Server 2016, or Exchange Server 2013.
User subscriptions
Each user who accesses the Exchange Online Archiving service must have an Exchange Online Archiving subscription. Each email archive subscription can be used only for storage of one user's messaging data.
Federated identity and single sign-on
Administrators can use a single sign-on approach to authentication with on-premises Active Directory. To achieve this, administrators can configure on-premises Active Directory Federation Services—a Microsoft Windows Server® 2008 service—to federate with the Microsoft Federation Gateway. After Active Directory Federation Services is configured, all users whose identities are based on the federated domain can use their existing corporate logon to automatically authenticate to Office 365.
Archive storage quota
Administrators can't adjust the storage quota. The archiving feature (called auto-expanding archiving) provides additional storage space in archive mailboxes, up to a maximum of 1.5 TB. Each Exchange Online Archiving subscriber initially receives 100 GB of storage in the archive mailbox. When auto-expanding archiving is turned on, additional storage space is automatically added when the 100 GB storage capacity is reached. In Exchange hybrid deployments, auto-expanding archiving is only supported for cloud-based archive mailboxes when the on-premises user's mailbox resides on Exchange Server 2019, Exchange Server 2016, or Exchange Server 2013 SP1 and later.
Auto-expanding archive is only supported for mailboxes used for individual users or shared mailboxes with a growth rate that does not exceed 1 GB per day. Using journaling, transport rules, or auto-forwarding rules to copy messages to Exchange Online Archiving for the purposes of archiving is not permitted. A user's archive mailbox is intended for just that user. Microsoft reserves the right to deny archiving in instances where a user's archive mailbox is used to store archive data for other users or in other cases of inappropriate use.
Auto-expanding archiving
The archiving feature called auto-expanding archiving provides additional storage space in archive mailboxes. Each Exchange Online Archiving subscriber initially receives 100 GB of storage in the archive mailbox. When auto-expanding archiving is turned on, additional storage space is automatically added when the 100 GB storage capacity is reached. This incremental addition of storage space continues until the archive storage reaches 1.5 TB. In Exchange hybrid deployments, auto-expanding archiving is only supported for cloud-based archive mailboxes when the on-premises user's mailbox resides on Exchange Server 2019, Exchange Server 2016, or Exchange Server 2013 (SP1 or later). For more information, see Overview of auto-expanding archiving.
Important
Administrators can't adjust the storage quota.
Auto-expanding archiving is not supported for mailboxes residing on Exchange Server 2010.
Archive Online Books
Important
Archive Online Shop
Auto-expanding archive is only supported for mailboxes used for individual users or shared mailboxes with a growth rate that does not exceed 1 GB per day. Using journaling, transport rules, or auto-forwarding rules to copy messages to Exchange Online Archiving for the purposes of archiving is not permitted. A user's archive mailbox is intended for just that user. Microsoft reserves the right to deny additional archive storage in instances where a user's archive mailbox is used to store archive data for other users or in other cases of inappropriate use.
