In my job I work closely with many Town and Village clerks throughout the lower Hudson Valley. I called one today I know particularly well and asked her to fax over a copy of the rules regarding requesting genealogy copies. The information provided on DOH-1562 (06/2003) form "Health Commissioner's Administrative Rules and Regulations" reads: 1. Genealogical research: Uncertified copies or abstracts from records of birth, death, and marriage may be provided for genealogical research purposes subject to the restrictions specified in this summary. All requests must be submitted in writing and include payment of the applicable statutory fee. The applicant shall be required to pay the specified fee for the time spent for the search and uncertified copy of notification of no record. 2. Who is Authorized to do the Searching?: Record searches shall be conducted only by the following persons in the files maintained by their respective agencies: a. authorized employees of the State Department of Health; b. a local registrar, deputy registrar, or an authorized employee of the registrar; c. a town or city clerk, deputy clerk, or an authorized employee of the town or city clerk. 3. What records are available? a. No information shall be released from a record of birth which has been placed in a confidential file pursuant to Public Health Law Section 4138. 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. c. No information shall be released from a record of death unless the record has been on file for at least 50 years. 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. 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 documenation that the descendant authorized the party to make such application. f. All uncertified copies, abstracts, or information issued for genealogical research purposes shall be clearly marked with the statement "For Genealogical Purposes Only." Section 4 pertains to fees. Additionally, I pulled up the form which is currently posted to the NYS DOH website at http://www.nyhealth.gov/vital_records/forms/doh-4384.pdf and I see no reference to a driver's license requirement on that form either. Deborah ----- Original Message ----- From: Cliff Lamere Date: Thursday, March 29, 2007 1:20 pm Subject: Re: [NYWESTCH] Vital Records & drivers license To: nywestch@rootsweb.com > I phoned Yonkers twice yesterday to see what they said about the > need to > prove your identity by providing a driver's license. The > information > that I was given was conflicting, so I spoke with the Registrar > today. > She agreed with the need to provide a drivers license or photo > ID in > order to get either a genealogy or certified certificate. I > believe she > is wrong. I told her that I have bought hundreds of them from > the state > and was never asked to provide any such proof. The Registrar > told me > that another genealogist had raised the same question in the > past and > that she had phoned Albany to confirmed that what Yonkers was > doing was > correct, as well as required by the state. > > She said that she had a general information form from the state, > on the > back of which it stated the requirements. She told me that even > a paid > researcher who wanted to get a certificate for a client would > need to > get a release from their client in order to get it. I will > receive the > general form in the mail soon, so that I can read the > requirements for > myself. Something is wrong, but I can't tell what by the > information > that I received over the phone. More later. > > Cliff Lamere > > > > > > > *************************************** > Have you checked out the Westchester County GenWeb site yet? > http://www.rootsweb.com/~nywestch/ > *************************************** > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to NYWESTCH- > request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >