Abstract The main isotopologue of 2-hydroxyacetonitrile (glycolonitrile; HOCH2CN) has recently been detected in the interstellar medium (ISM). To date, no rotational spectroscopy of 2-hydroxyacetonitrile 13C-isotopologues studies has been carried out and only few centimeter-wave measurements of one deuterated isotopologue (DOCH2CN) exist. The rotational spectrum of the 2-hydroxyacetonitrile 13C-isotopologues and DOCH2CN was investigated from 150 to 530 GHz. As the parent isotopic species, the other 2-hydroxyacetonitrile isotopologues exhibit large amplitude motion due to the torsion of the hydroxyl group. The analysis of the spectra were carried out using the RAS formalism and Watson’s S-reduction Hamiltonian implemented in the SPFIT code. More than 3000 lines were fitted for the three studied isotopologues, with quantum number values reaching 60 to 67 for J and 21 to 25 for Ka depending on the species. Accurate line lists up to 600 GHz and partition functions are provided. A search for these isotopologues in SMM1-a and IRAS16293 B surveys resulted in non-detections; upper limits to the column density were determined. The accurate spectroscopic prediction of their spectra provided in this work will allow astronomers to continue the search for 2-hydroxyacetonitrile isotopologues in the ISM.