The proposed legislation that seeks to change the genealogy time frames is just one section of the FY 2026 New York State budget that has been proposed by the Department of Health, referred to as "Part U." Below are links to the full bill text as well as the Department of Health's Memorandum in Support for "Part U." Following that are extracts of the relevant provisions in each.
Text highlighted in yellow is from the proposed bill
text highlighted in gray is current law
other sections that do not have an impact on public access to vital records are summarized
pp. 6-7: AN ACT ... to amend the public health law, in relation to eliminating administrative barriers to, and offset actual costs of, timely fulfillment of vital records requests; and to repeal certain provisions of such law relating thereto (Part U) ...
p. 150: Section 1. Paragraph (g) of subdivision 2 of section 4100 of the 19 public health law is REPEALED.
[(g) prepare and maintain a complete typewritten, printed, photographic or magnetically stored index of all births and deaths registered; said index to be arranged, in the case of deaths, by the names of decedents, and in the case of births, by the names of fathers, or the names of mothers if the names of the fathers do not appear; ]
pp. 150-151 Section 2 : amends paragraphs (h) and (i) of subdivision 2 of section 4100 to make those provisions gender neutral (i.e. his or her to their)
pp. 151- 152 Section 3: amends section 4104 to reflect that subdivision (i) would now be subdivision (h)
pp. 152- 153: Section 4: amends subdivision (h) of section 4170 to make the provision gender neutral
p. 153: Section 5: Subdivision 2:
Each applicant for a certification of birth or death, certificate of birth data or for a certified copy or certified transcript of a birth or death certificate or certificate of birth data shall remit to the commissioner with such application a fee of [thirty] forty-five dollars in payment for the search of the files and records and the furnishing of a certification, certified copy or certified transcript if such record is found or for a certification that a search discloses no record of a birth or of a death.
pp. 153-154: Section 5: Subdivision 3:
Proposed law text:
Regarding requests to search vital records for authorized genealogical or research purposes:
(a) Notwithstanding any contrary provision of law, the commissioner shall have the authority to determine the means and methods by which the following genealogical records may be released to an applicant meeting the qualifications to receive the relevant record type as described in this article or article three of the domestic relations law:
(1) a record of birth which has been on file for at least one hundred twenty-five years, when the person to whom the record relates is known to be deceased,
(2) a record of death which has been on file for at least seventy-five years, or
(3) a record of marriage or dissolution of marriage which has been on file for at least one hundred years, when both parties to the marriage are known to be deceased.
No such record or abstract of such record shall be subject to disclosure under article six of the public officers law.
(b) The commissioner or any person authorized by them shall have the authority to approve a request for records sought for research purposes. In the event that such approval is granted, the commissioner or any person authorized by them shall be entitled to, and the applicant shall pay, a fee of fifty dollars for each hour or fractional part of each hour of time devoted to search or retrieval of records, together with a fee of forty-five dollars for each uncertified copy or abstract of an individual record or for a certification that a search discloses no record.
Current law text:
For any search of the files and records conducted for authorized genealogical or research purposes, the commissioner or any person authorized by him shall be entitled to, and the applicant shall pay, a fee of twenty dollars for each hour or fractional part of an hour of time of search, together with a fee of two dollars for each uncertified copy or abstract of such record requested by the applicant or for a certification that a search discloses no record.
pp. 154-155 Section 5: Subdivision 8: amends the subdivision to make the provision gender neutral and implement other minor word changes
p. 155 Section 5: Subdivision 9: The commissioner may institute an additional fee of [fifteen] thirty dollars for priority handling for each certification, certified copy or certified transcript of certificates of birth, death, or dissolution of marriage; or [fifteen] thirty dollars for priority handling for each certification, certified copy or certified transcript of certificate of marriage.
p. 155 Section 6: This act shall take effect immediately and shall be deemed to be in full force and effect on and after April 1, 2025.
Part U – Digitize Genealogical Records
Purpose: This bill would amend the public health law to mitigate the existing costs and administrative burdens of processing requests for the release of vital records used for genealogical purposes. This will ultimately assist the Department of Health (DOH) Bureau of Vital Records (BVR) in streamlining operations and clearing the backlog of vital records requests.
Summary of Provisions and Statement in Support: Current law requires that the Department of Health maintain indices of all birth and death records submitted in NYS. These indices are seldom used and represent an unnecessary administrative burden for BVR staff. This bill would eliminate the requirement to maintain such indices, which would reduce BVR administrative burden.
Additionally, this bill would increase the fee for a certificate of birth or of death from thirty dollars to forty-five dollars, including if the requested record cannot be located.
Further, this bill would allow the commissioner to determine the means and methods by which certain genealogical records may be released to an applicant meeting the qualifications to receive the relevant records, such as a record of birth which has been on file for at least one hundred twenty five years, a record of death which has been on file for at least seventy-five years, or a record of marriage or dissolution of marriage which has been on file for at least one hundred years, when both parties are known to be deceased.
This would significantly decrease the evaluation period for such records and allow BVR staff to process a higher volume of requests. This bill would also allow DOH to impose a fee of fifty dollars for each hour or fraction of an hour dedicated to retrieving and processing requests for records used in genealogical research.
Priority processing fees for vital records requests would also be raised from fifteen to thirty dollars under this legislation. Proceeds from these fees will, in turn, be used to supplement BVR staffing and resources to increase the Bureau’s capacity to process additional requests.
Budget Implications: Enactment of this bill is necessary to implement the FY 2026 Executive budget because it is a vital component of the Governor’s comprehensive agenda to streamline operations and reduce administrative burdens.
Effective Date: This bill would take effect on April 1, 2025.