COGenBlog

If you have land entry files or military pension files to order from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), you’ll want to do it soon before the fees increase. The increases, which are due to go into effect the end of May, will increase the fee for copying a Civil War era pension file from $37 to $125 (338% increase) and a land entry file will go from $17.75 to $40.

Time is running out to comment on the NARA proposed copying fee increases. The deadline for comments is next Friday, 27 April 2007. (Isn’t it ironic that I just reported today a new Colorado law that reduces copying fees making public records more accessible.)

Link to the proposed rule.

It’s not easy to find the links for submitting comments. Thanks to Pam Smith, president of Colorado Genealogical Society for supplying the instructions which were written by Sue Axton.

1. Go to www.regulations.gov. On this page:
2. Under “Search for” select “Documents Open for Public Comment”.
3. Under “Agency” select “National Archives and Records Administration.”
4. Under “Document Type” select “All Document Types.”
5. In the “Keyword or ID” field, type “NARA-07-0001-0001″.
6. Select “Exact Phrase”. This will take you to the “Results” page
7. On the far right side is a “Comments” column. The “Submit” button is the little yellow bubble in this column.

If there are some public records you need copied, you might want to wait a few months. You could save $1 a copy.

Fees for copying public records will go down soon due to Colorado Senate Bill 45 which was signed by the governor this week. The law states that a custodian of public records may charge a fee “not to exceed twenty-five cents per standard page for a copy of a public record or a fee not to exceed the actual cost of providing a copy, printout, or photograph of a public record in a format other than a standard page.”

The old limit is one dollar and twenty-five cents per page. This is the highest copying costs in the country and will still be in effect until about August 2007. The new limit will apply to fees charged by all city, county and state governments in Colorado. There are a few exceptions to the copying fee limit, such as certified transcripts from colleges.