The Washington Papers, also known as The Papers of George Washington, is a project dedicated to the documentary publication of comprehensive letterpress and digital editions of George and Martha Washington's papers. Founded at the University of Virginia in 1968 as the Papers of George Washington, the Washington Papers is an expansive project that includes the papers and documents of George Washington as well as of individuals close to him. The Washington Papers aims to place Washington in a larger context and to bring individuals, such as Martha Washington and Washington family members, into sharper focus. The project is currently headed by editor in chief and director Jennifer E. Steenshorne, and is the largest collection of its type. The project is funded in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, the Packard Humanities Institute, the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, the University of Virginia, the Florence Gould Foundation, and other private donors.

The project should be distinguished from the Archives of George Washington, part of which resides at the Library of Virginia, and the George Washington Papers, American Memory database at the Library of Congress. Both of the aforementioned archives hold some of Washington's original correspondence, whereas the Washington Papers holds copies of these documents, along with copies of related documents, that are accompanied by transcriptions and annotations. The Washington Papers are used to provide researchers with a different form of access than the ones offered by the Library of Virginia and American Memory by way of increased ease of reading, both in legibility and in context.

The project had its start in 1966 when the state archivist of Virginia proposed that the university launch a documentary editing project for the Washington papers. Two years later the Washington Papers was launched with the help of the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association. Its first editor-in-chief, Donald Jackson, was appointed and the project sought to "be the most comprehensive compilation yet and include not just letters Washington wrote, but those he received". To this end the project sought out and procured copies of 140,000 documents. This caused the project to differ from other collections that only collected material written by Washington and the idea behind the move was to provide a more comprehensive overview of Washington that would make for more thorough research.

Starting in 1976 the Washington Papers project began releasing sets of its collection via the University Press of Virginia. Sets are separated into different collections depending on the type of material and the time period. In 2004 the project digitized the collection with the help of the Ladies' Association and the University of Virginia Press’s digital database. The digitized collection was called the Papers of George Washington Digital Edition and is regularly updated. The following year the project presented the White House with a full set of the Papers of George Washington. In 2010 the National Historical Publications and Records Commission and the University of Virginia Press announced a new project, Founders Online, which would provide users with free access to papers relating to the Founding Fathers.

Since its inception the project has expanded to include several projects that are intended to help increase the availability and understanding of the collection. Some of the expansions have been done as part of larger projects with other organizations such as NARA.

In October 2010, NARA and the University of Virginia Press announced their intention to create Founders Online, a website devoted to the papers of the Founding Fathers, including Washington and six other founders. Work on the project began in October 2011 and went online in October 2013, providing free public access to the print volumes of the Washington Papers. Prior to this, the papers were available online through the Papers of George Washington Digital Edition. The Founders Online project also encompasses the writings and letters of John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison. The site's searchable database allows access to 185,000 individual documents.

The Financial Papers Project was officially launched in 2011 with grant funding from NARA. It is a digital-only documentary edition of the Papers of George Washington and is intended to create a free-access Internet database containing accurate transcriptions of Washington’s financial documents, including ledgers, account books, receipts, and other items.

The Bibliography Project is an ongoing project that was started in 2012 and is intended to create a comprehensive database that catalogues and describes the numerous resources, including children’s books, written about George Washington. Once completed, the project will provide users with access to material that will describe the context and meaning of each text that significantly portrays George Washington.