Distance Research - Genealogical Inquiry Policy

REQUEST FOR SEARCH FORMS

The Provincial Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador (PANL), has been attempting to deal with the ever increasing number of requests from genealogists for information relating to their ancestors. Very often, inquiries will give too little information or ask for too much to initiate a meaningful search. By observing the guidelines in this policy, the Client Services Section will be able to provide fast and efficient service for distance users.

PANL staff will conduct a search for a baptism, marriage or burial from our pre-1892 records. The cost of each search is $10.00 regardless of the result of the search. This $10.00 fee is payable when your request is submitted.

Please make your cheque payable for the exact amount to The Rooms Corporation. If the record which you are seeking is located, the complete information in that record will be extracted and mailed to you. This is not a certificate. If a certified (True Copy) is required, a request can then be submitted at an extra cost of $15.00.

PANL can conduct ONE record search per inquiry of our pre-1892 records. Please be clear and concise in your request. Ask for a specific record. Do you wish the baptism, marriage or burial record of the individual?

Identify the individual you are attempting to trace by giving the following information on the Genealogical Request for Search form. For more info, click here.

1. the FULL NAME

2. the approximate DATE of the record which you are seeking.

3. PLACE OF RESIDENCE

4. RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION - be specific, i.e., Church of England/Anglican, Congregational, Methodist/United Church, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, Salvation Army.

Note: Without the community of residence and the religious denomination, we CANNOT access our records for a search.

The records of baptisms, marriages and burials held at PANL are photocopies, transcripts or microfilm copies of parish registers. The original registers are still in the possession of churches throughout Newfoundland and Labrador. Also, our collection is not complete. The pre 1892 records of many parishes were not transcribed when requested by the Newfoundland Government, circa 1940, many have not been photocopied or microfilmed, and some have been lost, mainly as the result of fire.

Most of our records are pre-1892. Civil Registration started in Newfoundland in 1891/1892. All parishes were required to register their baptisms, marriages and burials with this Government Registry.  Records registered for 1891 are not complete.

If you are seeking a record from 1892 to the current year, please contact...

Vital Statistics Division
Department of Government Services and Lands
Government Services Centre
5 Mews Place
P. O. Box 8700
St. John's, NL
A1B 4J6

Telephone: (709) 729-3311

Ninety-nine percent of PANL's records of baptisms, marriages and burials are not indexed. Each individual register has to be searched, page by page, entry by entry, to locate a record. We will search a ten-year period. For this reason we can accept only ONE inquiry at a time. Any others will be returned. Please wait for a response to your first inquiry before mailing the second. A blank Genealogical Request for Search form will be mailed to you each time we respond to a request. This policy will enable us to provide a more efficient service by mail.

Requests are processed in the order of date received, and as Reference Desk staff is available. PANL receives an enormous number of such requests and there is usually a processing backlog. Your request will be filled as soon as possible.

Please do not send your family tree chart and ask that we fill in the blanks. Do not send pages of detailed information about your family, ending with "Please forward any information you have on any of the above." We cannot respond to such requests.

These search regulations apply to pre-1892 records only at PANL. Records from 1892 to the current year are registered with the Vital Statistics Division, and certificates should be requested from that source.

Alternative Research Sources

1. If at all possible, visit the Provincial Archives. Our Reference Staff will be more than happy to assist you in using our inventories to locate relevant records.

2. If you have relatives or friends in the St. John's area, you may be able to arrange for someone to visit the Provincial Archives to do research for you.

3. The Newfoundland and Labrador Genealogical Society publishes a quarterly newsletter, The Ancestor. Members of the Society may publish, free of charge, queries or information for each of their particular surname interests in a Research Interest Column. The Society is able to offer assistance and advice on methods of research.

4. There are private researchers in the St. John's area who do genealogical research for a fee. The Provincial Archives does not assume any responsibility for the quality or completion of any research undertaken by those researchers. Any work done by them is by private agreement between the person requesting the service and the researcher.

Good luck with your research.