THE CASE FOR

O P E NP U B L I CRECORDS

r e c o r d s p r e s e r vat i o n & a c c e s s c o m m i t t e e

Supporting thegenealogical communityacross the United States

in every countyin all 50 states and U. S. Territories

www.fgs.org/rpac

t h e f a c t swho we are

Family history researchis the fastest growing leisure activity in the United States.

78% of the U.S. population is interested in or actively researching their family history.Source: zOmnibus Survey, Market Tools, February 2007

The Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, the largest genealogical library in the United States, has approximately 567,000 visitors each year and in 2006 estimated approximately 6 million people visit its local Family History Centers across the United States each year.

Facts about FamilySearch.org, the largest free family history research site on the Internet:

More than 10 million hits to the site per day

Over 1 million registered users

Facts about Ancestry.com, the largest online family history research site in the U. S. with more than 850,000 paid subscribers:

More than 5 million Ancestry.com users have created family trees

More than 340 million pages viewed in April 2008

More than 6.4 million unique site visitors to Ancestry.com in April 2008 Source: @comScore Media Metrix, Worldwide

Records Preservation & Access Committee

A joint committee of...

Federation of Genealogical Societieswww.fgs.orgNearly 600 member societies representing over 1,000,000 individual genealogists

National Genealogical Societywww.ngsgenealogy.orgMore than 9,750 individual members and over 675 member societies and libraries representing more than 300,000 members or library patrons

Association of Professional Genealogistswww.apgen.orgRepresenting over 1,800 professional genealogists

Board for Certification of Genealogistswww.bcgcertification.orgRepresenting over 300 board-certified genealogists

International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies www.iajgs.org75 member organizations representing 10,000 individuals

www.fgs.org/rpac

AddressingAbout the committee

You can make a difference!

A joint committee of . . .

Federation of Genealogical Societieswww.fgs.orgNearly 600 member societies representing over 1,000,000 individual genealogists

National Genealogical Societywww.ngsgenealogy.orgMore than 9,750 individual members and over 675 member societies and libraries representing more than 300,000 members or library patrons

International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societieswww.iajgs.org75 member organizations representing 10,000 individuals

Association of Professional Genealogistswww.apgen.orgRepresenting over 1,800 professional genealogists

Board for Certifi cation of Genealogistswww.bcgcertifi cation.orgRepresenting over 300 board-certifi ed genealogists

PTR 10-07-2601

THE CASE FOR

O P E NP U B L I CRECORDS

r e c o r d s p r e s e r vat i o n & a c c e s s c o m m i t t e e

Supporting thegenealogical communityacross the United States

in every countyin all 50 states and U. S. Territories

www.fgs.org/rpac

t h e f a c t swho we are

AddressingAbout the committee

Records Preservation& Access Committee

Federation of Genealogical Societieswww.fgs.org, Over 1,000,000 individual genealogists represented by more than 500 societies.

National Genealogical Societywww.ngsgenealogy.orgAlmost 10,000 individual members and 650 society and library subscribers reaching over 300,000 genealogists.

International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societieswww.iajgs.org, Over 70 member organizations representing approximately 10,000 individuals.

American Society of Genealogistswww.fasg.org,The scholarly honorary society limited to fi fty fellows.

Association of Professional Genealogistswww.apgen.orgRepresenting over 1,800 professional genealogists.

Board for Certifi cation of Genealogistswww.bcgcertifi cation.orgRepresenting over 300 board-certifi ed genealogists.

International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogistswww.icapgen.org, Representing over 200 professional accredited genealogists.

PTR 13-04-2101

Family history research is the fastest growing leisure

activity in the United States.According to a survey conducted by Harris Interactive (March 2012):

Four in fi ve Americans have an interest in learning about their family history.

For nearly two in three (65%) Americans, learning about family history before they arrived in the U. S. is one of the most important benefi ts of researching family history.

FamilySearch has 6.875 billion historic records on microfi lm that are being digitized and eventually indexed. Those records are available today at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, which has over 400,000 visitors each year. The microfi lm can also be ordered from local Family History Centers across the U. S. for a small fee. Facts about FamilySearch.org, the largest free family history research site on the Internet:

Over 5 million average daily page views

Over 1 million registered users

Over 85,000 average daily visitors

Facts about Ancestry.com, the largest online family history research site in the U.S., with more than 2 million paying subscribers:

More than 11 billion records

More than 44 million family trees

Largest online collection of historical U.S. military records.

You can make a diff erence!

www.fgs.org/rpac

k e e p p u b l i c r e c o r d s o p e n . . .

the pros the mythsThe Records Preservation and Access Committee recognizes that some states are more open in providing access to vital records. However, RPAC recommends the following as a minimum:

Certified copies should require proof of appli-cant's identity, direct family relationship and reason the record is needed for requests within restricted time periods.

Non-certified copies of birth, marriage and death records should be available for informa-tional purposes.

Birth records may be opened to public access at any time after they are filed; if there is a restricted closure period applied, it should not exceed 100 years.

Marriage and divorce records should be open to public access from the time they are filed, except that, when present, the Social Security numbers of living individuals should be redacted.

Death records may be opened to public access at any time after they are filed; if there is a restricted closure period applied, it should not exceed 50 years.

Adoption records may be opened to an adoptee who has attained the legal age of majority; if any further restricted period is applied, it should not extend beyond the adoptee's 30th birthday.

Adoption records should be considered open records to the public after 100 years from the date of the adoption.

access we need

There is no proof open records significantly contribute to ID theft or terrorism.

Social Security numbers are rarely stolen from documents found in government offices, including court houses. They are usually stolen by thieves breaking into banking and business databases or conducting Internet scams.

County and state vital records were not used to commit the terrorist acts on September 11, 2001, yet state legislatures have passed more than 1,000 laws changing access to public records. Source: Robert Tanner, AP National Writer,

Analysis: States Steadily Restricting Info,

www.sunshineweek.org, March 2006

AddressingAddressing

The Records

For more information:

Visit www.fgs.org/rpac

Read The Case for Public Records, A Position Paper http://apgen.org/publications/press/APG-KGROW.pdf

Read Strategy for Records Preservation and Access available at www.fgs.org/rpac

The U.S. Surgeon General encourages families to research cause of death of parents, grandparents and great grand-parents.

The Social Security Administration publishes The Social Security Death Index (SSDI) so lenders, businesses and government agencies can check online to make sure someone is not using the social security number of a deceased person.

People need access to public records for proof of birth for passports and drivers’ licenses.

U.S. Census records are available after 72 years.

Americans are interested in researching their cultural heritage which includes information contained in vital records.

Genealogists are the single largest constituency of users for state archives.Source: State Archivists’ State of the State Report,

January 2007

The Records Preservation and Access Committee supports open access to all vital records. Access to vital records helps estranged families fi nd each other and reunite. Open access enables families to research the cause of death for cousins and extended families, making it possible to identify and treat inherited diseases.

Some 16 states which have open access to vital records, have not experienced any greater frequency of identity fraud than the more restrictive states. Identity theft usually occurs when a large database is compromised not as a result of access to vital records.

Birth, marriage, divorce, and death records should be open to the public and available for research for informational purposes.

The mother’s maiden name is an important family link and should continue to be provided on vital records. Banks and other fi nancial institutions now provide a broad choice of other security questions.

Adoption records should be opened to an adoptee who has attained the legal age of majority. Adoption records should be considered open records to the public after 72 years, the same time frame which is applied to U. S. Census records.

Informational copies should be available for the general public and identifi ed as for “genealogical purposes only.”

In states which have restricted access to vital records, RPAC works with the legislatures to achieve more open access.

k e e p p u b l i c r e c o r d s o p e n . . .

the pros the myths

access we need

AddressingAddressingThe Records

The Records Preservation and Access Committee supports open access to all vital records. Access to vital records helps estranged families fi nd each other and reunite. Open access enables families to research the cause of death for cousins and extended families, making it possible to identify and treat inherited diseases.

Some 16 states which have open access to vital records, have not experienced any greater frequency of identity fraud than the more restrictive states. Identity theft usually occurs when a large database is compromised not as a result of access to vital records.

Birth, marriage, divorce, and death records should be open to the public and available for research for informational purposes.

The mother’s maiden name is an important family link and should continue to be provided on vital records. Banks and other fi nancial institutions now provide a broad choice of other security questions.

Adoption records should be opened to an adoptee who has attained the legal age of majority. Adoption records should be considered open records to the public after 72 years, the same time frame which is applied to U. S. Census records.

Informational copies should be available for the general public and identifi ed as for “genealogical purposes only.”

In states which have restricted access to vital records, RPAC works with the legislatures to achieve more open access.

There is no proof open records signifi cantly contribute to ID theft or fraud.

Social Security numbers are rarely stolen from documents found in government offi ces, including court houses. They are usually stolen by thieves breaking into banking and business databases or conducting Internet scams.

County and state vital records were not used to commit the terrorist acts on September 11, 2001, yet state legislatures have passed more than 1,000 laws changing access to public records.Source: Robert Tanner, AP National Writer,Analysis: States Steadily Restricting Info,www.sunshineweek.org, March 2006

For more information:

Visit www.fgs.org/rpac

Read The Case for Public Records, A Position Paperhttp://apgen.org/publications/press/APG-KGROW.pdf

Read Strategy for Records Preservation and Access available at www.fgs.org/rpac

The U.S. Surgeon General encourages families to research cause of death of parents, grandparents, and great grandparents

The Social Security Administration publishes The Social Security Death Index (SSDI) so lenders, businesses, and government agencies can check online to make sure someone is not using the social security number of a deceased person.

People need access to public records for proof of birth for passports and drivers’ licenses.

U.S. Census records are available after 72 years.

Americans are interested in researching their cultural heritage which includes information contained in vital records.

Genealogists are the single largest constituency of users for state archives.Source: State Archivists’ State of the State Report, January 2007