Archive research for probate and citizenship firms
We find and read the records your case needs in registers that archives have scanned and published online, chiefly from the lands of Poland, Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine and from the former German eastern provinces now held in Polish archives.
We read Latin, Polish, Russian in the pre-1918 spelling and German, including the old German handwriting (Kurrent).
What you receive for each instruction
- an image of every record we rely on, cut from the archive scan
- a transcription in the language of the original and an English translation
- the full archive reference, so anyone can find the record again
- a short note on identity: why the person in the record is the person in your case and what is certain or only probable
- a list of every register and year range searched, including those where nothing was found
- the details needed to order certified copies from the archive or registry office
On request the report carries no Ex Archivis branding, so you can pass it to your client as your own working file.
Scope and price
Each search has a defined scope (the event, the parish or registry office, the year range) and a fixed price agreed in writing before we start. A search that finds nothing is charged in full, because the report of what was searched is part of the evidence.
Our first reply is free. It says whether the registers exist, which years survive and whether they are available online. Trade rates are in that reply.
What we do not do
- We do not give legal advice and do not express an opinion on entitlement to citizenship or to an estate.
- We do not provide sworn or certified translations.
- We do not contact heirs, relatives or your clients.
- We do not request records of living people unless the person entitled to them authorises it.
Terms
Invoiced by EDSN Ltd in GBP, USD or EUR. Our terms of cooperation and a data processing agreement under Article 28 of the UK GDPR and the EU GDPR are available on request.
Send us a case
Write with the person or event sought, the place and the years. We reply within two working days.