Costs
US State Archives Genealogy Fees: How Costs Compare for Famous Person Searches
State archives genealogy fees vary widely, from free index searches to $25 or more per record, with federal NARA charges on top. Here is how costs compare.
What to take away
- Fees are set office by office, not nationally. The table below compares Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois and New York, plus NARA.
- Research and retrieval fees commonly run $10 to $30 per request, and certified copies from state vital records offices often run $15 to $35.
- Federal records through NARA add separate charges, usually a few dollars per page plus a search fee for records that are not indexed.
- Budget $25 to $75 per famous person if you need several documents across two or three states.
- Ask for the fee schedule in writing before you send a check, because posted rates change and rush service doubles them.
Where the money actually goes
A state archive is not one counter. It is an index, a reading room and a copy shop, and each has its own price.
Staff time is the expensive part. The work is billed per request or per hour, not per name.
A cost comparison across US state archives
Rates below are typical for the service named and come from each office's published schedule as of 2025. Confirm current figures with the office before you mail anything.
State Archive Cost Items
Cost item
- Online index search
- $0
- Staff research, per hour
- $20 to $45
- Record retrieval, per request
- $10 to $25
- Photocopy, per page
- $0.25 to $1.00
- Certified copy, vital records
- $15 to $35
- Rush or expedited service
- 2x to 3x base fee
- NARA page copy
- $0.80 or less
- NARA search fee
- $25 to $70
Typical range
- Online index search
- No account needed
- Staff research, per hour
- Often one hour minimum
- Record retrieval, per request
- Flat fee, one name
- Photocopy, per page
- Cheaper in person
- Certified copy, vital records
- Required for legal proof
- Rush or expedited service
- Not offered everywhere
- NARA page copy
- Federal rate, indexed records
- NARA search fee
- Only for unindexed records
Notes
- Online index search
- Staff research, per hour
- Record retrieval, per request
- Photocopy, per page
- Certified copy, vital records
- Rush or expedited service
- NARA page copy
- NARA search fee
| Office | Main billed service | Typical genealogical cost, as of 2025 | What drives the total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission | Retrieval and copies | $10 to $25 a request, plus $0.25 to $1.00 a page | Whether staff pull the record |
| Ohio History Connection, State Archives | Research time | $20 to $45 an hour | How long the search runs |
| Illinois State Archives | Copies and certifications | $5 to $25 a request | Page count and certification |
| New York State Archives | Copies and reproductions | $10 to $30 a request | Whether the record is indexed |
| NARA, indexed records | Page copy | $0.80 or less a page | Page count |
| NARA, unindexed records | Search plus copy | $25 to $70 a search | Staff time to locate the record |
| State vital records offices | Certified copy | $15 to $35 a copy | Legal certification |
Figures are drawn from the published schedules of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, the Ohio History Connection, the Illinois State Archives, the New York State Archives and NARA. Ranges are typical, not quoted rates.
Pennsylvania is a useful reference point because its historical commission publishes both archive and vital records fees. The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission lists research and copy charges alongside its birth record procedures.
Ohio is the contrast. State records sit with the state archive, but marriage and probate files stay with the county, and the county sets its own price. A search that crosses that line pays two offices instead of one.
Federal fees sit on top of state fees
A famous person born in one state, married in another and buried in a third can generate three separate bills. Federal records add a fourth layer when the person served in the military or held public office.
The National Archives charges per page for copies of indexed records. Unindexed records cost more because a staff member has to search them. The NARA genealogy portal explains which records are indexed and which require a paid search.
That distinction matters for budgeting. An indexed pension file might cost a few dollars. An unindexed one can cost $70 before a single page is copied. Read our historical figures citation chain guide before you order, because a citation tells you which repository actually holds the document.
Birth and death certificates are priced separately
State archives hold historical records. State health departments hold birth and death certificates, and they charge their own fees. Those fees are usually higher because the certificate is a legal document.
The CDC maintains a list of state vital records offices with contact details. Use it to find the right office before you assume the archive can help. In many states the archive stops at a cutoff year, often 1906 or 1915, and the health department owns everything after.
If your subject was born in a large city, the city may run its own registry. That is another fee schedule. Our Chicago birthplace case file shows how city, county and state offices can each hold part of the same story.
A worked budget for one famous person
Suppose you are tracing a nineteenth century figure born in Pennsylvania, married in Ohio and recorded in a federal census. Here is a realistic order of operations.
Budgeting Steps for One Person
- Search free state indexes, note hits with call numbers
- Order one retrieval per hit, about $15 each, cap at three
- Request uncertified copy first; certify only if legal proof needed
- Pull indexed federal census page from NARA to keep cost low
- Hold $25 in reserve for a rush fee if deadline appears
- Note every hit in both states' online indexes with its call number.
- Order one retrieval per hit, at roughly $15 each, and cap the order at three.
- Request an uncertified copy first. Certify only if you need legal proof.
- Pull the federal census page from NARA if it is indexed, which keeps the cost low.
- Hold $25 in reserve for a rush fee if a deadline appears.
That sequence usually lands between $45 and $90 for one person. A cheaper path exists if you visit in person, because photocopies at the counter cost far less than staff research time.
- Confirm the archive's cutoff year for the record type you need
- Ask whether the index is complete or partial
- Request the fee schedule in writing before paying
- Check whether the state health department holds the certificate instead
- Note the refund policy for unsuccessful searches
Unsuccessful searches are the quiet cost. Some offices keep the fee even when nothing is found, so ask about that before you order.
Example: two states, two prices
A researcher needs a birth record and a land deed for the same person. The birth record comes from a state health department at $20 certified. The deed comes from a state archive at $12 for retrieval plus $0.50 per page, and the deed runs four pages.
Total is $34 for two documents from two offices. Add a federal military pension search at $25 and the bill reaches $59. None of that includes travel, postage or the certified mail envelope.
