The following responses have happen to me requesting data: I have requested of the Social Security Administration copies of some Social Security applications. My letters were sent on Oct. 15th. I received one on last week and two more today. There are still a couple from Oct. 15th outstanding. When I requested the FORM 80 papers to order military paper work on Civil War veterans, it took 4 to 6 weeks just to get the forms. Then it 6 to 8 weeks to get the copies from each request. I wanted the full package and asked for it when I made the initial request. I was paying with a credit card, but they did not do the full package with the initial request. It is well worth the extra money to get the full package. There will be tidbits and trinkets of information on some of the pages that the clerks in Washington, DC won't see or think is important. Death Certificates from the State of Kentucky take 6 weeks. The state charges $6 each. If you want a Kentucky Death Certificate that is in the public domain, there are some folks that "advertise" via the Kentucky GenWeb page that they will get public domain copies. They charge $3 each. The lady that I have used goes every week and she will send the copies back immediately after she goes. I always send a stamped and addressed envelope. I am still waiting since Oct. 15th for a Death Certificate from Texas and one from California. I have heard that California takes forever. I am still waiting on an Oct. 26 request to Illinois. Virginia replied back rather quickly to my request for a death certificate. They will not grant this request except to immediate family members within 50 years of the death or 100 years of the birth or marriage. Florida usually takes about 6 weeks to process a death cerificate request. North Carolina took 8 weeks to process a birth certificate request. I often request obituaries from libraries. The Shepherdsville (Bullitt County), KY and the Dade City (Pasco County), FL libraries have been the most responsive, courteous and helpful libraries. Nashville, TN public library sent back my request and $5 money order when I requested a couple of obits. They said they had a $15 fee per obituary. (I went up there and got it myself. I live in Atlanta.) The Louisville, KY Public Free Library (main branch) has been most cooperative via mail. A public library in Tucson, AZ stinks. I have requested two obituaries, pretty close in time to each other, and they haven't replied at all. Same for the Shelbyville, KY Public Library. Dan