Our "To-Do" List - Reclaim The Records

The following is a very preliminary list of record sets that Reclaim The Records will be working to acquire over the next few years. We’re primarily focusing here on New York City, New York State, and New Jersey, because these are the areas in which we have some research experience. But we’d like to add information from all fifty states, and eventually other countries too. Take our new records survey to help us add to this list!

State or Territory	City or County	Record Type	Record Years	Current availability	Agency to whom the FOIL request would be addressed	Notes
All states	All cities and counties	School records	All years	Multiple people have reported problems getting access to old school records, even when the person being researched is a relative and is deceased and the records are quite old. Some school records repositories' archivists are even incorrectly citing HIPAA (which is supposed to be for health and medical records, and has nothing to do with school) to prevent records access by the public.	TBD.	In the future, we will be adding a "how-to" guide to the website for requesting records release from educational institutions under state FOI laws. Note that only public educational facilities are covered under state FOI laws, not private institutions.
All states	All cities and counties	State-run mental hospital records (particularly deaths and burials on hospital grounds)	All years	There needs to be a comprehensive overview done of the legality of opening mental hospital records, particularly concerning people who died in the hospitals and who might be buried on the grounds, as those people often have their information completely missing from state death indices. Medical records may still have legal privacy restrictions -- but, just for the record, the modern HIPAA law does not apply to old records. Some hospitals' records are available through state libraries (i.e. Oregon, Connecticut), particularly to researchers who can prove a family relationship, but what about general availability of indices?	TBD.	A state-by-state investigation into each state's laws concerning these records needs to be undertaken. Any volunteers? E-mail [email protected] if so.
All states	All cities and counties	Index to C-File Numbers for Naturalization Records	All years	Not available to the public. Public currently must request that USCIS does their own search in this index first for $20, and they then provide a specific case and file number which can be requested.	USCIS	Note that this would potentially be Reclaim The Records' first ever FOIA request, for Federal records, not state records. Much information in this database would have to be redacted by USCIS before it can be made public, so that no recent records would be provided. Realistically, this kind of FOIA request would probably require a court case to make them turn it over.
California	All counties	Index to marriages	All years	There is no California-wide marriage index currently available on any website, other than one database that spans a few mid-century years. Every county in California handles marriage index look-ups differently in practice, some allowing onsite access to computerized county-wide indices (i.e. San Francisco), some having microfilmed indices, some having nothing at all? Note that the public already has access to copies of all informational (non-certified) non-confidential marriage records in California, so surely getting access to just the basic marriage index shouldn't be a problem. More info on the SF county site: http://sfgov.org/countyclerk/how-obtain-copies-marriage-licenses and http://www.sfassessor.org/forms-notices/forms/marriage-certificate-request	Each county clerk or Office of the Assessor-Recorder has its own copy; also, the California State Library in Sacramento has a partial copy	Some counties (which?) and some years (which?) have their marriage license data on microfilm or microfiche at the California State Library in Sacramento, open to the public onsite, but the library refuses to make copies of the film. A request under the California Public Records Act (PRA) has not been attempted yet. And some years clearly have a computerized index (1998-1999 and 2010-present [minus six months]) at the CA Dept of Health. See: http://www.cdph.ca.gov/certlic/birthdeathmar/Pages/CertifiedCopiesofMarriageandDivorceRecords.aspx . Note that California law allows for a reporter or other representative of the news media to access (but view only?) California marriage records free of charge, see: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=hsc&group=103001-104000&file=103625-103660 and skip to section 103655 near the bottom. Also interesting to note: California has a unique sub-type of marriage license called a "confidential marriage license" (as distinguished from a public one) that was originally designed for Hollywood stars! That type of marriage is uncommon. It is unclear whether any county's public marriage index would cover that type of confidential marriage too.
Connecticut	All cities and counties	Marriage index	July 1, 1897 - December 31, 1958	Access to marriage certificates, marriage license applications, and marriage indices are all open to the public under Connecticut law. But so far, the only publicly available statewide Connecticut marriage index runs from 1959-2001 (available at Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org). So the earlier 1897-1958 marriage index should hypothetically be available too -- but it isn't yet. (July 1, 1897 is the date that statewide BMD registration started in Connecticut, although in practice some towns did not participate until a few years later.)	State Vital Records Office at the Connecticut Department of Public Health	See also: http://www.ct.gov/dph/cwp/view.asp?a=3132&q=388130&dphNav=\|46940\| It clearly states that "The State Vital Records Office at the Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) maintains a statewide registry of all births, marriages, civil unions, deaths and fetal deaths that have occurred in CT since July 1, 1897."
Connecticut	All cities and counties	Marriage license applications	July 1, 1897 - December 31, 2015	Marriage certificates are already open to the general public in Connecticut by statute (through present day), and they already have a set fee already attached to them for copies. But marriage license applications (note: license applications are not the same thing as the actual certificate!) are open to the public under the Connecticut Freedom of Information law. (July 1, 1897 is the date that statewide BMD registration started in Connecticut, although in practice some towns did not participate until a few years later.) Also, the marriage index for just 1897-1965 is already available on the CT State LIbrary website.	Every Connecticut town clerk	It is unclear in what year these applications started being collected, separate from the license or certificate itself. It may differ from town to town. See also: "Access to Marriage License Applications under the Freedom of Information Act" http://www.ctclerks.com/filestorage/6922/1322/1331/foi_marriage.doc (Word .DOC from the Connecticut Town Clerks' website, which confirms that applications are covered under Connecticut FOI and not subject to the usual fees for vital records.) Link for the 1897-1965 basic index at CT State Library: http://ctstatelibrary.org/marriage-records/
Florida	All cities and counties	Probate records	All years	Florida's Public Records Law is one of the rare state FOI laws that explicitly covers the judicial branch too, which means probate books ought to be available to the public. But in practice, the books of the probate files are usually only available to the clerks to search through. Some indices to very old Florida probate records are available on FamilySearch and Ancestry, but they are mostly not indexed yet, they are usually not the full files, and they are usually not for the middle or end of the twentieth century.	Every Florida county clerk
Illinois	Cook county	Birth records	1872-1940	These files have a searchable index online and copies are available for purchase -- but only for purchase. The records do not appear to be open to the public for mere browsing. Unknown if available on microfilm; images used to be available online on FamilySearch.org (and possibly on Ancestry.com?) but are no longer available to the public.	Genealogy Unit of the Cook County Clerk's Bureau of Vital Records	See also: http://cookcountygenealogy.com/MoreInfo.aspx and https://familysearch.org/search/catalog/1462519
Illinois	Cook county	Marriage records	1872-1965	These files have a searchable index online and copies are available for purchase -- but only for purchase. The records do not appear to be open to the public for mere browsing. Unknown if available on microfilm; images used to be available online on FamilySearch.org (and possibly on Ancestry.com?) but are no longer available to the public.	Genealogy Unit of the Cook County Clerk's Bureau of Vital Records	See also: http://cookcountygenealogy.com/MoreInfo.aspx
Illinois	Cook county	Death records	1872-1995	These files have a searchable index online and copies are available for purchase -- but only for purchase. The records do not appear to be open to the public for mere browsing. Unknown if available on microfilm; images used to be available online on FamilySearch.org (and possibly on Ancestry.com?) but are no longer available to the public.	Genealogy Unit of the Cook County Clerk's Bureau of Vital Records	See also: http://cookcountygenealogy.com/MoreInfo.aspx
Illinois	Will county	Amended and delayed birth certificates	Unknown through the 1950's	The county denies that they have any amended or delayed birth certificates, even though their own vital records index lists them through the 1950's, and therefore will not provide them to the public. Records are believed to be on microfilm and possibly already digitized, but public denied the right to do their own look-ups.	Probably the Will County clerk's office	Part of a larger series of reported problems with the Will County clerk's office, Will County circuit clerk's office, and Will County Archives. Most records only allowed to be searched by employees, not by the public. Many records reportedly missing or misfiled.
Illinois	Will county	Education records	1890-1929	Public access to the handwritten Regional Board of Education books for Will County, kept at the Will County Archives, is being denied to researchers. The excuse being presented by the archivist is that it's a privacy issue and researchers need written permission from the RBOE and the circuit clerk's office. No such privacy law actually exists, to our knowledge, especially given the age of these records.	Probably the Will County circuit clerk's office (note: circuit clerk, not regular clerk)	Part of a larger series of reported problems with the Will County clerk's office, Will County circuit clerk's office, and Will County Archives. Most records only allowed to be searched by employees, not by the public. Many records reportedly missing or misfiled.
Illinois	Will county	Marriage applications	Unknown	The county will only provide marriage certificates and denies that any marriage applications exist, and therefore will not provide them to the public.	Probably the Will County clerk's office	Part of a larger series of reported problems with the Will County clerk's office, Will County circuit clerk's office, and Will County Archives. Most records only allowed to be searched by employees, not by the public. Many records reportedly missing or misfiled.
Illinois	Will county	Military records	1861-1865	The Will County Recorder of Deeds office refuses access to Military Adjudant General Civil War Records on several microfilms in the office. They claim these records are sealed to the public. This is the only known location of these records. Believed to be microfilm-only.	Probably the Will County Recorder of Deeds office	Part of a larger series of reported problems with the Will County clerk's office, Will County circuit clerk's office, and Will County Archives. Most records only allowed to be searched by employees, not by the public. Many records reportedly missing or misfiled.
Illinois	Will county	Probate records and property records	Unknown	The office moved into a smaller space and moved many record books that used to be available off the floor to the Will County Archives where they are now inaccessible. Records are on microfilm, but some may already be digitzied; however, public is denied access.	Probably the Will County Recorder of Deeds office	Part of a larger series of reported problems with the Will County clerk's office, Will County circuit clerk's office, and Will County Archives. Most records only allowed to be searched by employees, not by the public. Many records reportedly missing or misfiled.
Illinois	Will county	Naturalization records	Unknown	The county's naturalization records, kept at the Will County Archives, are in very poor shape; records access was perviously open to the public with an appointment, but they are now denying access based on "condition". Unknown if they have ever been microfilmed (probably not).	Probably the Will County circuit clerk's office (note: circuit clerk, not regular clerk)	Part of a larger series of reported problems with the Will County clerk's office, Will County circuit clerk's office, and Will County Archives. Most records only allowed to be searched by employees, not by the public. Many records reportedly missing or misfiled.
Indiana	Most cities and counties	Birth index (and possibly birth certificates?)	1920-present	The state's birth index appears to be searchable through payment to the State, but is not generally open to the public for free open searches, and apparently not available on microfilm or web database. However, some counties have taken it upon themselves to place the typed-up county-level indices (clearly taken from a computerized source, but presented as non-searchable PDF's) on their local libraries' website (for example, Greene county). The content of the actual birth certificates does not appear to be restricted; according to Indiana law IC 16-37-2-9 the permanent birth records shall be open to public inspection unless the child was adopted.	Probably the Indiana Division of Vital Records	68 out of 92 Indiana counties had their 1880-1920 birth records indexed by the WPA (Works Progress Administration) during the Great Depression; that searchable index is available online already, including at Ancestry.com. But no post-1920 birth index information appears to be available. This seems especially surprising given that the genealogically renowned Allen County Public Library is located in Fort Wayne, Indiana. A tipster has mentioned Lawrence county as one in particular where birth indices/records can not be searched freely by the public. Ancestry may be filming all old Indiana vital records; needs confirmation.
Massachusetts	All cities	Birth index	1921-present (?)	Available onsite only. Older index is in books in five-year blocks, newer index is computerized and is year-by-year. Some of this data is online already. Some of this statewide data is made available by the archives through through the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) and the FamilySearch Family History Library (FHL) -- but not "public" nor downloadable yet.	Massachusetts Registry of Vital Records and Statistics, within the Massachusetts Department of Public Health	Massachusetts records indices are only open to the public during limited "genealogical hours" for a total of eleven hours per week -- and they charge $9/hour for researchers just to physically be in the room! See also: http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/gov/departments/dph/programs/admin/dmoa/vitals/obtaining-certified-copies-of-vital-records.html Reclaim the Records will wait to make a public records request for this index until the Massachusetts legislature passes the new Public Records Law update in the 2016 legislative season, which will greatly aid our chances of winning, will reduce the associated costs of winning a request, and will give us the ability to recoup any potential legal fees if our request needs to go to court.
Massachusetts	All cities	Birth index -- amended birth records	1841-present (?)	Available onsite only. Some of this statewide data is made available by the archives through through the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS, but not "public" nor downloadable yet.	Massachusetts Registry of Vital Records and Statistics, within the Massachusetts Department of Public Health	Massachusetts records indices are only open to the public during limited "genealogical hours" for a total of eleven hours per week -- and they charge $9/hour for researchers just to physically be in the room! See also: http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/gov/departments/dph/programs/admin/dmoa/vitals/obtaining-certified-copies-of-vital-records.html Reclaim the Records will wait to make a public records request for this index until the Massachusetts legislature passes the new Public Records Law update in the 2016 legislative season, which will greatly aid our chances of winning, will reduce the associated costs of winning a request, and will give us the ability to recoup any potential legal fees if our request needs to go to court.
Massachusetts	All cities	Death index	1921-present (?)	Available onsite only. Older index is in books in five-year blocks, newer index is computerized and is year-by-year. Some of this data is online already. Some of this statewide data is made available by the archives through through the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) and the FamilySearch Family History Library (FHL) -- but not "public" nor downloadable yet.	Massachusetts Registry of Vital Records and Statistics, within the Massachusetts Department of Public Health	Massachusetts records indices are only open to the public during limited "genealogical hours" for a total of eleven hours per week -- and they charge $9/hour for researchers just to physically be in the room! See also: http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/gov/departments/dph/programs/admin/dmoa/vitals/obtaining-certified-copies-of-vital-records.html Reclaim the Records will wait to make a public records request for this index until the Massachusetts legislature passes the new Public Records Law update in the 2016 legislative season, which will greatly aid our chances of winning, will reduce the associated costs of winning a request, and will give us the ability to recoup any potential legal fees if our request needs to go to court.
Massachusetts	All cities	Divorce index	1952-present	Available onsite only. Not online, not on FamilySearch microfilms.	Massachusetts Registry of Vital Records and Statistics, within the Massachusetts Department of Public Health	Massachusetts records indices are only open to the public during limited "genealogical hours" for a total of eleven hours per week -- and they charge $9/hour for researchers just to physically be in the room! See also: http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/gov/departments/dph/programs/admin/dmoa/vitals/obtaining-certified-copies-of-vital-records.html Reclaim the Records will wait to make a public records request for this index until the Massachusetts legislature passes the new Public Records Law update in the 2016 legislative season, which will greatly aid our chances of winning, will reduce the associated costs of winning a request, and will give us the ability to recoup any potential legal fees if our request needs to go to court.
Massachusetts	All cities	Marriage index	1921-present (?)	Available onsite only. Older index is in five-year blocks, newer index is year-by-year. Not online, not on FamilySearch microfilms. Some of this statewide data is made available by the archives through through the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) -- they have the 1900-1955 and the 1966-1970 indices in book format at their library.	Massachusetts Registry of Vital Records and Statistics, within the Massachusetts Department of Public Health	Massachusetts records indices are only open to the public during limited "genealogical hours" for a total of eleven hours per week -- and they charge $9/hour for researchers just to physically be in the room! See also: http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/gov/departments/dph/programs/admin/dmoa/vitals/obtaining-certified-copies-of-vital-records.html Reclaim the Records will wait to make a public records request for this index until the Massachusetts legislature passes the new Public Records Law update in the 2016 legislative season, which will greatly aid our chances of winning, will reduce the associated costs of winning a request, and will give us the ability to recoup any potential legal fees if our request needs to go to court.
Maryland	Baltimore city	Naturalizations index	listed as 1796-1933 in catalog, but actually early 1800's-1906	Available on paper cards in a card catalog that is publicly available, but they have never been microfilmed nor scanned. Not available on FamilySearch microfilm.	Maryland State Archives	See also: http://www.raogk.org/maryland-genealogy/md-court-records/#immigration AND http://guide.mdsa.net/pages/series.aspx?action=viewSeries&ID=s1416
Michigan	All cities and counties	Birth index	1867-present	No birth index is available for Michigan yet. But it seems like their vital records laws don't define what a certificate is versus an index, and don't prohibit an index. They give the Department of Health and Senior Services the right to make rules about access to the records. Can this be over-ruled by Michigan's state FOI law? Law 333.2888 explicitly claims they can overrule it. Also Michigan has a really weird system whereby anyone can "verify" most pieces of data in a birth record by sending it in, with a fee.	Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Vital Records Office	Reference for the law -- Public Health Code / Act 368 of 1978 / 333.2896 Rules; minimum requirements: http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(a1ehubdozbcl24s1zpp1ixue))/mileg.aspx?page=getObject&objectName=mcl-333-2896 Dept of Health and Senior Services website: http://www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/0,5885,7-339-71551_4645---,00.html How to "verify" a birth record under Michigan law: see law MCL 333.2881(2)
Minnesota	St. Louis county	Marriage certificates	1820-1940	Marriage certificates are public in Minnesota, and an online index and easy ordering system is available here: https://www.moms.mn.gov/ However, at the county courthouse, the public is prevented from browsing the microfilms of the certificates, and are being asked to pay for copies even if they merely want to see the documents.	Probably the St. Louis county clerk's office	This is yet another case where there is no legal impediment to public access to certificates, but the staff at a courthouse throws up roadblocks, possibly to earn revenue. The tipster who reported this also says: "once a week a "genealogist" comes in and if you have an appt and money she will print them out." This seems like a revenue grab.
New Jersey	All cities	Birth records and birth index	Birth records 1901-1923, birth index 1901-1903	Available only on-site at the New Jersey Archives in Trenton, on microfilm. Unknown if ever published in printed form. 1848-1878 registers available on NJ website; some pre-1900 records were allowed to be indexed by FamilySearch, but the certificates are not available on microfilm.	Probably the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, Bureau of Vital Statistics OR State Archives	Index only available 1901-1903, handwritten. Certificates are alphabetical by the surname within the year. New Jersey is one of the states whose Freedom of Information Law (the New Jersey Open Public Records Act -- OPRA) only allows a state resident to make requests. This was struck down by the Third Circuit in the 2006 case Lee v. Minner, but it's still technically on the books in NJ. So to keep things simpler, a state resident should probably make this request.
New Jersey	All cities	Divorce index	Unknown - 1930's	Available only on-site at the New Jersey Archives in Trenton, on microfilm. Docket indices are listed alphabetically in 3-5 year blocks. They are in printed books, but later years (maybe 1980's?) in Superior Court has a searchable database; this was transferred circa March 2015.	TBD.	This may not be open: New Jersey divorce records are open (unless explicitly closed by a judge), unlike New York -- but OPRA does not cover judicial/court records.
New Jersey	All cities and counties	Probate records and wills (estate packets and libers)	1678-1901	These scanned images are mostly available on FamilySearch (both online and on microfilm), and were briefly available on Ancestry including an Ancestry-only transcribed index. But in late September 2015, both the index and scanned images were removed from Ancestry without warning. Originals are also available at the New Jersey State Archives in Trenton, but only at cost; the Archives were apparently the ones to force Ancestry to remove their information.	Probably the New Jersey State Archives	Note that because these are judicial records, not governmental records, they may be inaccessible under OPRA (New Jersey's version of FOIL). See also: http://www.geneamusings.com/2015/09/here-yesterday-gone-today-new-jersey.html
New York	All cities and counties	Peddlers' licenses	1840-1896, 1949-1956	Available on one roll of microfilm at the New York State Archives, but not available anywhere else. No index available. Sample images reprinted in the New York Archives periodical, Volume 15, Number 3, Winter 2016.	New York State Department of Education, parent agency of the New York State Archives	Note that these are state-level peddlers' licenses, while most licenenses were garnted by cities and municipalities. (We should also look into getting those city-level licenses...) Also, these particular state licenses were only those granted to peddlers who were selling non-food goods from overseas suppliers. See NY State Archives catalog record here: http://nysl.nysed.gov/uhtbin/cgisirsi.exe/?ps=WHG88k24Co/NYSL/59530061/123
New York	Albany	Birth index	Unknown-1914	City of Albany births prior to 1914 are not included on the statewide microfiche birth index that is available at the various New York State libraries.	Probably the Albany city clerk's office or the Albany county clerk's office	See also: http://nysa32.nysed.gov/a/research/res_topics_gen_vitalstats.shtml
New York	Albany	Marriage index	Unknown-1908	City of Albany marriages prior to 1908 are not included on the statewide microfiche death index that is available at the various New York State libraries.	Probably the Albany city clerk's office or the Albany county clerk's office	See also: http://nysa32.nysed.gov/a/research/res_topics_gen_vitalstats.shtml
New York	Albany county	Naturalization records	1821-1991	The records were originally microfilmed, then were digitized. However, the county is refusing to make these digitized files available to the general public. These are housed at the Albany County Hall of Records (95 Tivoli Street, Albany, NY 12207). Only staff members are allowed to browse the digitized versions and seem put out when asked to do it. Staff also stated they would not be made available online due to them being "court documents" despite both court documents and naturalization records from many other counties being available online.	Probably the Albany county clerk's office	There is a searchable index available online at http://app.albanycounty.com/achor/naturalizations/ . But this index isn't showing the actual images, which is what should be available under FOIL.
New York	Buffalo	Birth certificates (no birth index available?)	1877-1914	City of Buffalo births prior to 1914 are not included on the statewide New York State birth index that is available on microfiche at the various New York State libraries. Sources say that there ISN'T ANY compiled Buffalo birth index, just microfilms of actual Buffalo birth certificates in chronological order for these years.	Probably the Buffalo city clerk's office or the Erie county clerk's office	See also: http://nysa32.nysed.gov/a/research/res_topics_gen_vitalstats.shtml
New York	Buffalo	Marriage index	1877-1938	City of Buffalo marriages prior to about 1914 (some sources previously said 1908) are not included in the New York State marriage index.	Buffalo City Clerk's Office and/or the Inactive Records Office	See also: http://nysa32.nysed.gov/a/research/res_topics_gen_vitalstats.shtml
New York	All cities outside of New York City	Birth index	1881-1940	Available only on-site in a select number of New York State libraries, on microfiche (not microfilm); must be searched year-by-year. Unknown if ever published in printed form. Not available on FamilySearch microfilm.	New York State Department of Health	In theory, all birth records that are 75+ years old should be available to the public, which would mean all births in or prior to 1940; but in reality, the NYS archives only hold thie indices up through 1937. Where are the 1937-1940 indices? Note that this request is for the index only. People who were born in state facilities such as prisons or mental hospitals are not in the index. See also: http://nysa32.nysed.gov/a/research/res_topics_gen_vitalstats.shtml Does not include Albany, Buffalo, or Yonkers prior to 1914. Also note that some years are arranged alphabetically by surname, but some years are arranged by the surname's SOUNDEX code.
New York	All cities outside of New York City	Death index	June 1880 through 1957	Available only on-site in a select number of New York State libraries, on microfiche (not microfilm); must be searched year-by-year. Unknown if ever published in printed form. Not available on FamilySearch microfilm.	New York State Department of Health	Some years are arranged alphabetically by surname, but some years are arranged by the surname's SOUNDEX code. Does not include Albany, Buffalo, or Yonkers prior to 1914. People who died in state facilities such as prisons or mental hospitals are not in the index. The death index for 1957-1965 is not included in this request because it is already available as a downloadable spreadsheet on the state's open data portal; it is updated every quarter. Link: https://health.data.ny.gov/Health/Genealogical-Research-Death-Index-Beginning-1957/vafa-pf2s E-mail correspondence with the State shows that this is one of the top most-downloaded files from the State open data portal, demonstrating the popularity of genealogy data.
New York	All cities outside of New York City	Delayed birth index	Unknown-1881 (mostly 1870's)	Available only at the New York State Archives. Unknown if ever published in printed form. Not available on FamilySearch microfilm.	New York State Department of Health	Series B2029. See also: http://nysa32.nysed.gov/a/research/res_topics_gen_vitalstats.shtml
New York	All cities outside of New York City	Divorce index	1963-present	Unlcear where the index is stored and in what format -- possbly at New York State Archives? Because of years involved, would not be surprised if this is part-microfilmed and part-digital. Not available on the State open data portal.	New York State Department of Health	New York divorce records are sealed for 100 years, but the basic index might be available under FOIL.
New York	All cities outside of New York City	Domestic partnership index	February 2006-present	Never been available to the public in any form. Not available in State or city open data portals. Not available on microfilm at any libraries. Not available on FamilySearch microfilm. Not available in printed materials. Not available on the State open data portal.	TBD -- might be located in multiple localities, some overlapping (cities, counties)	Note that domestic partnerships in New York State do not just include same-sex couples who were denied marriage rights prior to July 2011. They also include opposite-sex couples who needed to register for benefits together.
New York	All cities outside of New York City	Marriage index	1881-1965	The index to NYS marriages that are more than 50 years old are available only on-site in a select number of New York State libraries, on microfiche (not microfilm); must be searched year-by-year. Unknown if ever published in printed form. Not available on the State open data portal. City of Rochester has put its own marriage index online through 1940; link: http://www.cityofrochester.gov/marriagerecords/ FamilySearch has many counties' marriage records (not just the index!) freely available in the roughly 1908-1935 time period; records were collected directly from county courthouses instead of the New York State Library. See list here: https://familysearch.org/search/catalog/1618491 If actual records can be open, why not the state index?	New York State Department of Health	Some years are arranged alphabetically by surname, but some years are arranged by the surname's SOUNDEX code. Note that this request is for the index only, but based on the availability of actual marriage records to FamilySearch, it may be possible to do many separate FOIL requests to each county courthouse to get actual certificate copies. See also: http://nysa32.nysed.gov/a/research/res_topics_gen_vitalstats.shtml
New York	New York City	Birth certificates	1910-1916	Available for individual ordering through the Department of Health, but not available as a group in the NYC Municipal Archives, although they should be, since they are now more than 100 years old. Not available anywhere else, never microfilmed by FamilySearch nor freely available to researchers.	New York City Department of Health	These files were supposed to be turned over to the NYC Municipal Archives and become fully public once they were more than 100 years old. Yet the last batch of these certificates to be turned over were the 1909 certificates. Why have the 1910-1914 certificates not been turned over and made public yet?
New York	New York City	Birth certificates (delayed and "special" and "imperfect")	All records are from 1909 and earlier, but were issued in or before 1984	Only available onsite at the NYC Municipal Archives.	Supposedly these are property of the New York City Department of Health even though they are located at the NYC Municipal Archives, which is part of DORIS. Will need to sort out "ownership" issues.	No known index exists for these records! Approximately 160 rolls of microfilm, perhaps 100,000 births.
New York	New York City	Birth index	1909-2008	Bound books of the NYC birth index used to be available at the NYPL on 42nd Street. The 1888-1967 books were in open shelving in Milstein room 121, but the 1968-1982 books were in a locked cage and you needed to have the reference librarian pull them for you. In 2016, they were suddenly taken by the NYC Department of Health! The NY State Library in Albany also has bound volumes of the 1907-1918 NYC birth index (call number R,974.71,N532,87-1534). A volunteer-led effort by a genealogy non-profit (the IGG) has already transcribed the 1878-1909 index into a free searchable database, which is also available on Ancestry.com. FamilySearch recently put online transcriptions of the births from 1846-1909. The 1948-1965 index is available on FamilySearch microfilm, but that index was never made available to the public from the city. That microfilm series is photographs of an old style dot matrix printout, implying that at least at the time the films were made a computerized index was available somewhere.	New York City Department of Health	We intend to sue the ever-lovin' heck out of the NYC DOH to get this data back. Stay tuned!
New York	New York City	Birth index (alphabetical version!)	Early twentieth century	These are on microfilms of handwritten index cards, sorted by address! They have never been made available outside the Municipal Archives building before.	Department of Records and Information Services (DORIS), the parent agency of the NYC Municipal Archives	60 rolls of microfilm - Manhattan 1880-1909 (might include the Bronx before 1898)* unknown number of rolls - Manhattan 1953-1965 (2 sets of) 5 rolls of microfilm - Bronx 1898-1910 unknown number of rolls - Bronx 1911(?)-1914 16 rolls of microfilm - Brooklyn 1898-1910 unknown number of rolls - Brooklyn 1911(?)-1944 8 rolls of microfilm - Queens 1898-1913, 1917 3 rolls of microfilm - Staten Island 1898-1907 1 roll of microfilm - Maternity Hospital & Fitch Sanitarium 1942-44 (Bronx) *Note: Manhattan is indexed in five-year increments, not by year. There may be more rolls available at the NYC Department of Health that have not yet been turned over to the NYC Municipal Archives.
New York	New York City	Death index	1909-2008	Bound books of the NYC death index used to be available at the NYPL on 42nd Street, in Milstein room 119, available for 1957-1982, but the book for 1968 is missing. They were on open shelving. In 2016, they were suddenly taken by the NYC Department of Health! The NY State Library in Albany also has bound volumes of the 1907-1918 NYC death index (call number R,974.71,N532,87-1534). The data is also available on microfilm, but only up through 1965. FamilySearch recently put online transcriptions of the deaths through 1949, created from their microfilm, but that index was never made available to the public from the city. Ancestry recently transcribed and published the searchable text through 1965. That microfilm series is photographs of an old style dot matrix printout, implying that at least at the time the films were made a computerized index was available somewhere.	New York City Department of Health	We intend to sue the ever-lovin' heck out of the NYC DOH to get this data back. Stay tuned!
New York	New York City	Death index or certificates	January 1822, possibly February 1822	Volume 4 of the deaths for this time period (book starts in 1821) does not seem to list all the deaths in NYC for January 1822, just a few of them. Were some of them missed in the original NYC Municipal Archives microfilming of the book? For example, there are several people listed in the NYC Inventories of estates for 1822 which reference threir deaths in NYC in January 1822.	New York City Municipal Archives
New York	New York City	Domestic partnership index	July 1997-present	Never been available to the public in any form. Not available in State or city open data portals. Not available on microfilm at any libraries. Not available on FamilySearch microfilm. Not available in printed materials.	TBD.	Note that domestic partnerships in New York City do not just include same-sex couples who were denied marriage rights prior to July 2011. They also include opposite-sex couples who needed to register for benefits together.
New York	New York City	Naturalizations	1809-1906	Naturalization records from the Mayor's Court / Court of Common Pleas are due to be moved to the New York City Municipal Archives in the near future, from the NYC Department of Old Records -- possibly by end of 2017? There is NO INDEX for these records.	New York City Municipal Archives	Naturalizations from the NY Superior Court (1846-1895; index in front of each book), and NY Supreme Court of New York County (starts in nineteenth century, also 1907-1924 for Manhattan and 1907-1914 for the Bronx) might be being moved to the Municipal Archives from the DOR, too; need to get more information. But some of those post-1907 Supreme Court naturalizations are already on FamilySearch microfilms #1509012 through #1522833.
New York	New York City - Manhattan only (New York county, plus possibly small parts of Bronx county, based on years)	Administration records index	1830-1876	Available only on-site at 31 Chambers Street, Room 402, in searchable databases on computers that do not allow the use of USB keys (printing allowed only). FamilySearch has scanned images for some, but not all, of these years, but unsure whether they also have a searchable index for them.	New York County Surrogate’s Court Records Department	The index database is labeled as being for the years 1830-1876 and it is in File Maker Pro 7 format.
New York	New York City - Manhattan only (New York county, plus possibly small parts of Bronx county, based on years)	Name changes (petitions and orders) index	1848-1934	Index seems to be a database that was compiled based on index cards, which cross-reference old name and new name. There may also be indexes in books on open shelves in Room 103B at 60 Centre Street.	New York County Clerk's Office (note: county, not city)	For Manhattan only, the records are stored at 31 Chambers Street (Room 703 -- 7th Floor), even though they're New York County Clerk's Office ("Division of Old Records") records rather than Municipal Archives records. These records are likely for the New York County (Manhattan) Supreme Court, not for all of the city.
New York	New York City - Manhattan only (New York county)	Divorce index	Unknown, but probably early 20th century only	Index seems to be a database that was compiled based on index cards that reference names and case numbers.	New York County Clerk's Office (note: county, not city)	For Manhattan only, the records are stored at 31 Chambers Street (Room 703), even though they're New York County Clerk's Office ("Division of Old Records") records rather than Municipal Archives records. Divorce proceedings are sealed for 100 years, but the divorce index may be available under FOIL.
New York	New York City - Manhattan only (New York county)	Probate records - estate files index	1964-present	Available only on-site at 31 Chambers Street, Room 402, in searchable databases on computers that do not allow the use of USB keys (printing allowed only). Not available through FamilySearch (which has probate materials from New York State, but not city).	New York County Surrogate’s Court Records Department	It is possible that both the index and the actual scanned images of the wills may be available under FOIL. Probate records prior to 1964 may be stored offsite, possibly not scanned, would be harder to get. NY County Surrogate's Court is currently charging researchers $90 for mailed requests just for the index search alone if the death is more than 35 years old (Surrogate’s Procedure Act Section 2402, item 14) -- which is outrageous considering how much of this is already digitized and easily searchable in person. Index database is kept in File Maker Pro 7 format, scanned estate files are in PDF format, labeled with year number then a hyphen then file number.
New York	New York City - Manhattan only (New York county)	Tax files index	1910-1950	Available only on-site at 31 Chambers Street, Room 402, in searchable databases on computers that do not allow the use of USB keys (printing allowed only). Not available through FamilySearch.	New York County Surrogate’s Court Records Department	The index databases are usually broken up into five year chunks (i.e. 1910-1914) in File Maker Pro 7 format, except for the larger 1940-1950 file.
New York	North Elba (Lake Placid)	Burial records, burial receipts, and death certificates	1850-1965	Handwritten and typed burial record and receipt on a index sized card, attached to a receipt and death certificate. Stored in a index card sized set of wooden drawers at the North Elba (Lake Placid) NY town clerks office.	North Elba (Lake Placid), New York town clerk's office	Part of a larger documentation project for the town of North Elba. Records are available through 2015, but probably only the ones through 1965 or 1966 would be open to the public under FOIL. See also: https://digitalabraham.com/
New York	Oneida county	Probate records	unknown year (1700's?) through 1830	Country probate records prior to 1830 are microfilmed and stored in the back of the courthouse, but are off-limits to the public. County probate records after 1830 are available on FamilySearch microfilms. NEHGS has published an abstract of the records, but that's not the same thing as public access to the microfilms.	Probably the Oneida County Surrogate's Court Records Department	The court is charging the public $90 just to look up something in their index, nevermind any costs for getting the actual file. Restricted access to the film means that there is no other way to know what else is on the film.
New York	Yonkers	Birth index	Unknown-1914	City of Yonkers births prior to 1914 are not included on the statewide microfiche birth index that is available at the various New York State libraries.	Probably the Yonkers city clerk's office or the Westchester county clerk's office	See also: http://nysa32.nysed.gov/a/research/res_topics_gen_vitalstats.shtml
New York	Yonkers	Marriage index	Unknown-1908	City of Yonkers marriages prior to 1908 are not included on the statewide microfiche marriage index that is available at the various New York State libraries.	Probably the Yonkers city clerk's office or the Westchester county clerk's office	See also: http://nysa32.nysed.gov/a/research/res_topics_gen_vitalstats.shtml
Ohio	All cities and counties	All kinds of indices	1908-present	Ohio is an open records state, its certificates are open to the general public, and many of its indices are already available on various genealogy websites, but only in parts. We should work on getting a complete set of all the indices and releasing it for download as open data.	Probably the Ohio Department of Health
South Carolina	All cities and counties	Marriage index	1950-2012	Right now, the marriage index for South Carolina is available through 1945 on FamilySearch and through 1965 (although incomplete) on Ancestry. But judging from online resources, it seems as though the basic marriage index (not certificates) should be legally available to the public through December 2012, although it's not online anywhere.	South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control	Se also: http://www.scdhec.gov/VitalRecords/MarriageCertificates/
West Virginia	Clay county	Marriage certificates	Unknown, but probably 19th and early/mid 20th centuries	Marriage certificates from this county were microfilmed by FamilySearch and a searchable index of the extracted information is available on Ancestry.com. However, access to and photocopies of the original certificates are reportedly being denied to researchers by the Clay county clerks.	Probably the Clay county clerk's office	West Virginia FOIL does have an exemption for "Archives, Historic Documents, and Manuscripts"; however, it seems this is meant to be narrowly construed to cover only "the location of undeveloped historic, prehistoric archaeological, paleontological and battlefield sites, or gifts to a public body with donor restrictions." Public vital records like marriage certificates do not seem to fit that criteria and therefore do not seem to be exempt from FOIL.
Wisconsin	All cities and counties	Death index	1910-present	The death index is only available for certain years post-1910 for Wisconsin, and mostly on a paysite. This basic index should be public.	TBD.	Wisconsin also has a weird law where supposedly you're not allowed to post scans or images of actual vital records online (?!), even if you own the copy, which seems like a law we'd like to challenge someday.
U.S. Virgin Islands	All cities and counties	Death certificates	All years	Report from Facebook: "I have hit a roadblock with the vital records office in St Croix, US Virgin Islands. I was asking for a death record from 1920, and was told that, although they have the records, they won't give access to anyone who isn't a spouse or child. I explained that there are no spouses and no children left for a man who died in 1920. It was explained to me that requests for death records had been "abused" and were no longer fulfilled except under the special circumstances. When I persisted (politely!) and moved up the chain, I got someone who said I could request it for a $75 fee which would cover 5 certificates (of course I only needed one). Got the impression that the staff member was making it up as they went, making it expensive and difficult in order to discourage requests."	TBD.	Need to research which FOI law applies to the USVI.