According to General Information and Application for Genealogical Services Form #DOH-1565 (4/93) p. 2 of 2: 3. a. No information shall be released from a record of birth which has been in a confidential file pursuant to Public Health Law Section 4138. 3. b. No information shall be released from a record of birth unless the record has been on file for at least 75 years and the person to whom the record relates is known to the applicant to be deceased. 3. c. No information shall be released from a record of death unless the record has been on file for at least 50 years. 3. d. No information shall be released from a record of marriage unless the record has been on file for at least 50 years and the parties to the marriage are known to the applicant to be deceased. 3. e. The time periods specified in (3B), (3C), and (3D) are waived if the applicant is a descendant or has been designated to act on behalf of a descendant of the person whose record is being requested. A descendant is a person in the direct line of descent. The applicant shall provide documentation of descendancy prior to the release of information in those instances where a waiver of the waiting period is requested. A party acting on behalf of a descendant shall further provide documentation that the descendant authorized the party to make such application. 3. f. All uncertified copies, abstracts, or information issued for genealogical research purposes shall be clearly marked with the statement "For Genealogical Purposes Only". 4. Genealogy Fee Schedule - Fee schedule per one spelling of name. Fee varies depending on requested number of years to be searched. Unused fees will be returned. 1- 3 years = $11.00 31-40 years = $51.00 4-10 years = 21.00 41-50 years = 61.00 11-20 years = 31.00 51-60 years = 71.00 21-30 years = 41.00 51-70 years = 81.00 I hope this helps some of you a little. Often what one gets depends on the clerk. When I went to the Town of Lewiston for my parents marriage certificate (Dad is gone but Mom is still here), I mentioned that Dad had died in 1971 at Mt. St. Mary's Hospital (in the Town of Lewiston). The clerk gave me a copy of both the marriage cert. and Dad's long death cert. A couple of years ago, I stopped at Alexandria Bay seeking the death cert of my grandfather, who died in 1964. No way. I MUST prove my descendancy. When I tried to explain that I needed the cert to do that. She laughed at me. One more thing, I suggest that if you send a fee, use a US PO money order. Many of the clerk offices will not accept personal checks. Besides, then you have the PO working for you, too. Be pleasant, mention that you are working on your family history (many clerks have had BAD experiences with genealogists and do not like them), and itemize your subject, ie; Name DOB POB Paragraphs make extracting the information difficult. These people are doing us a favor by taking time from their work that the taxpayers expect from them. Digging Up Roots! Ellen Colangelo