I just last week sent a hefty package of requests to the NJ Department of Health and Senior Services, for multiple copies of birth, marriage and death certificates, for genealogical holiday gifts for relatives. I thought I was comfortably within the necessary time frame, as I am three months from Christmas, and I sent the same to Pennsylvania the week before and have already started to receive the documents from them. I am sufficiently horrified by the replies that I saw to Anne's query about how long the turnaround time is for vital records requests and I have just sent the following letter to the commissioner of the department of health, with copies of the related e-mails, -- and have sent the same to the governor and my district senators and assemblymen: Christine Grant, Commissioner Department of Health and Senior Services PO Box 360, John Fitch Plaza Trenton, NJ 08625-0360 Dear Ms. Grant, I have never in my life written to any New Jersey officials until today and while I recognize that this may be a small matter in the course of things that you must address in a day, it in no way diminishes the anger I feel at seeing the correspondence that has been passing through my e-mail these past couple of days and I am prompted to write and ask that something be done about this. Last week I sent a hefty package to the Department of Health and Senior Services. In that package were numerous requests for birth, death and marriage certificates, as I am preparing a genealogical Christmas gift for two of my cousins and my sister. I prided myself on finally being organized enough to get this together three months in advance of when I needed it (for Christmas, of course). Within a couple of days of having sent the package, I found an ominous sign in some e-mail to the Mercer County genealogical mailing list to which I subscribe - someone wrote to ask about the turnaround time for vital records in New Jersey, because they sent in a request on August 12th and have heard nothing (see attached). The first reply (also attached) said they waited nearly four months for their information! This morning's reply said they are still waiting since December for their information! I find this completely appalling - and vaguely reminiscent of affairs in some third-world country where you are at the mercy of the staff who throws your papers in a corner somewhere. I sent for identical papers to Pennsylvania a week before the New Jersey request and in Friday's mail I got my first reply. I am horrified to think that I may have to wait for months and months to get my papers (including my own birth certificate) from your department. Is this standard procedure? As I said, I recognize that this is an apparently small matter, but is there anyone in the state who doesn't need one of these documents at some time in their lives? It would seem that this state of affairs will affect everyone at some point. Would you please look into this and do something about it if it is as the genealogical world seems to think it is. I would be willing to pay more per document if it meant getting decent service - but I would resent having to do that when I can get better, cheaper service from Pennsylvania…and since they are much bigger, we must presume their volume is even greater. Very truly yours, Lynne K. Ranieri