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.