The following resources are useful if you are seeking to obtain employee, service, or other official records for individuals who lived and worked in the Canal Zone or Panama in relation to the Panama Canal.
Gorgas Army Community Hospital and Coco Solo Hospital
(MEDICAL RECORDS BEFORE 1982):
Atlanta Federal Records Center
4712 Southpark Blvd
Ellenwood, GA 30294
(MEDICAL RECORDS AFTER 1982):
National Personnel Records Center
9700 Page Boulevard
St. Louis, MO 63132
Beginning December 1, 1999, Canal Zone vital records (Birth and Death from 1904 through September 30, 1979) formerly issued by the Panama Canal Commission are being issued by the Department of State in Washington, DC
Birth, Death, and Marriage Certificates
**Your request must be notarized and include a copy of a valid photo identification of the requester.**
Please include the following in your request:
Date / Purpose of Request / Name at birth, death, marriage / Date of birth, death, marriage / City and Country of birth, death, marriage / Signature of subject or guardian /Address / Telephone
For birth records, also include:
Father’s name / Date and place (city or state and country) of birth
Mother’s name Date and place (city or state and country) of birth
Any US passport information
Please direct inquiry to:
Vital Records Section
Passport Services
1111 19th Street NW, Suite 510
Washington, DC, CZ 34011-2300
Telephone: 202-955-0307
Please indicate the number of documents desired. The fee for documents is $30 for the 1st copy; $20 for each additional copy requested at the same time. Check or Money Order must be signed, dated and made payable to Department of State. Remittance must be payable in US dollars through a US bank. Non-US money is not acceptable. Please do not send cash.
Marriage records for the Canal Zone are located in the National Archives.
National Archives at College Park
Textual Reference (RDT2)
8601 Adelphi Road
College Park, MD 20740-6001
If a marriage record is located, the applicant will be contacted as to the fees involved.
Court Records
Divorces, Adoptions, Civil suits, Criminal Cases, etc.
Information on fees for copies of court records may be obtained from the NARA website at www.archives.gov
National Archives Building
Attn: Robert W. Ellis (RDT1R), Room 601
7th and Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20408
OR
Atlanta Federal Records Center
4712 Southpark Blvd
Ellenwood, GA 30294
Canal Zone High School Transcripts
Educational Testing Service – Dante’s Program
P.O. Box 6605
Princeton, New Jersey 08541-6605
Tel: (609) 720-6740
There is no charge for Canal Zone High School transcripts.
Panama Canal College
All requests for Panama Canal College student records/transcripts, verification of financial aid, GED, and course descriptions, should be directed to the DoDEA Record Center:
DoDEA Records Center
Attention: Adams / Hobby
7201 Custer Road, Bldg. 2670
Ft. Benning, GA 31905
Phone: (706) 545-8246/545-4785 Fax: (706) 545-1239
DSN Voice: 835- 8246/4785 DSN Fax: 835-1239
email: Erma.Adams@am.dodea.edu or Linda.Hobby@am.dodea.edu
http://www.dodea.edu/transcript/pcc.htm
Personnel Records
For records of employees who separated prior to 1952:
National Archives & Records Administration
ATTN: Archival Programs
P.O. Box 38757
St. Louis, MO 63138
For records of employees who separated after 1951:
National Personnel Records Center, Annex
1411 Boulder Boulevard
Valmeyer, IL 62295
Personnel records usually must undergo a FOIA request: https://www.archives.gov/st-louis/civilian-personnel
For military records:
National Archives and Record Administration
National Personnel Records Center
1 Archives Drive
St. Louis, Missouri 63118-4126
For more information about requesting military records see: https://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records
There is a fee for preparing and mailing copies of the National Employment records and the full name and any other available personal data (such as birth date and possible employment dates) of the person in question should be included in any inquiries made to the sources named above, as it will help to expedite the research process.
Also useful is this page from the National Archives: How to Use Panama Canal Personnel Records at the National Archives: My Grandfather Worked on the Panama Canal