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      • Missouri
        • Missouri Birth Index, 1910-2015They tried to charge us $1.5 million for a public records request. Then they decided to ignore the state Sunshine Law altogether.
          Litigation in progress! Case filed November 23, 2016.
        • Missouri Death Index, 1965-2015They tried to charge us $1.5 million for a public records request. Then they decided to ignore the state Sunshine Law altogether.
          Litigation in progress! Case filed November 23, 2016.
        • Close
      • Nationwide
        • Beneficiary Identification Records Locator Subsystem (BIRLS) Death FileWhen a veteran dies, why is their basic service data locked up forever behind a $300/year commercial website's paywall?
          Litigation in progress! FOIA lawsuit filed in United States District Court (SDNY) on September 17, 2018.
        • Social Security Applications and Claims IndexAlmost 100,000,000 public records have been available only through a $300/year paywalled commercial website. We're gonna change that.
          FOIA request filed with Social Security Administration on September 20, 2017
        • Close
      • New Jersey
        • New Jersey Birth, Marriage, and Death Indices, 1901-1903 and 1901-1914We acquired and published the first public twentieth century vital records indices for New Jersey.
          No litigation needed! All records online.
        • New Jersey Death Index, 1904-2017Why should these records be available if you're onsite at the state archives, but not available on the Internet?
          Legal wrangling but no litigation needed! All records online.
        • New Jersey Marriage Index, 1901-2016We acquired and published the first-ever data set of everyone married in the Garden State
          Legal wrangling, but no litigation needed! All records online.
        • Close
      • New York City
        • Brooklyn (Kings County) “Old Town” RecordsWelcome to the single stupidest lawsuit we've ever had to file against a government agency
          Litigation in progress! Case filed October 15, 2018.
        • Geographical Index to New York City Births, late 19th century – early 20th centuryHey, remember how the NYC Dept of Health "retroactively classified" the NYC birth index, removing it from the public? Well, they forgot one of them. But we didn't!
          No litigation needed! Microfilms being digitally scanned right now.
        • Index to New York City domestic partnership records, 1993-2017🌈All people and all families deserve to have their genealogical records available to them.
          NY FOIL request in planning stage against NYC Clerk's Office
        • Index to New York City Marriage Licenses, 1908-1929What do you do when a city archive won’t share its records with the public? Fight back. Read about our pilot project that started it all.
          Litigation successful! All records online.
        • Index to New York City Marriage Licenses, 1930-1995Yes, you can fight city hall — and win! Of course, it helps if the city refuses to return your e-mails and calls until you take them to court.
          Litigation successful! All records online (minus Queens 1971-72 images)
        • Index to New York City Marriage Licenses, 1996-2017Wait, you mean we’re gonna have to sue the same city agency again? Over the same records set? After they lost to us last time?
          Litigation successful! All records online
        • List of Registered Voters in New York City for 1924Historical voter data is often covered by Freedom of Information laws. We were the first to publish this often-overlooked resource online.
          No litigation needed! All records online.
        • New York City Birth Certificates, 1910-1917They're more than 100 years old, but NYC won't let us see them.
          NY FOIL request in planning stage against NYC DOH
        • New York City death certificates 1949-1968 and nullification of NYC DOH records access rulesRemember that time the NYC DOH ignored ~6,000 public comments unanimously in opposition to their terrible records access rules?
          Litigation in progress! Case filed April 17, 2019.
        • Close
      • New York State
        • Index to Deaths in Albany, New York, 1880-1915Corruption's such an old song that we can sing along in harmony, And nowhere is it stronger than in Albany
          NY FOIL request filed with Albany City Clerk's Office on September 6, 2017
        • Index to Deaths in Buffalo, New York, 1852-1944These records were sitting on a hard drive in a city government's Inactive Records Center, not online for public use. We fixed that.
          No litigation needed! All records online.
        • Index to Deaths in Yonkers, New York, c. 1870-1915"Out there, there's a world outside of Yonkers..."
          FOIL Appeal (constructive denial) sent March 13, 2019
        • Index to New York State Births (Outside of New York City), 1881-1942Finally, New York researchers can ditch the microfiche sheets and join the twenty-first century.
          No litigation needed! All records online.
        • Index to New York State Deaths (Outside of New York City), 1880-1956It took us seventeen months of fighting with the government just to get a list of the names of dead people.
          Legal wrangling but no litigation needed! All records online.
        • Index to New York State Marriages (Outside of New York City), 1881-2017NYS DOH gave us only half of the files we'd requested, and initially they didn't even explain why. So we sued them -- and won!
          Litigation successful! Case filed August 24, 2018, judgment rendered March 13, 2019, files due for release in early/mid 2019
        • Close
      • Washington
        • Washington State Marriage, Divorce, and Death Indices, c. 1907-2017The legislature now wants to lock away indices that have always been public. Nuh-uh.
          Washington PRA request filed with Dept. of Health, Secretary of State, and State Archives on January 30, 2019.
        • Close
      • Wyoming
        • Wyoming Marriage, Death, and Divorce Indices, 1900-1965Frozen in a snowbank outside of Laramie? We got your record. Thrown off your wagon team in Cheyenne? We got your record too.
          Coming soon...
        • Close
    • Close
  • Donate
Public data for public use
Skip NavigationMenu
  • About
    • Our Board of Directors
    • Our Activism
    • Presentations, Slides, Videos, and Webinars
    • Press
    • Close
  • Our “To-Do” List
  • Records Survey
  • Records Requests
      • Missouri
        • Missouri Birth Index, 1910-2015They tried to charge us $1.5 million for a public records request. Then they decided to ignore the state Sunshine Law altogether.
          Litigation in progress! Case filed November 23, 2016.
        • Missouri Death Index, 1965-2015They tried to charge us $1.5 million for a public records request. Then they decided to ignore the state Sunshine Law altogether.
          Litigation in progress! Case filed November 23, 2016.
        • Close
      • Nationwide
        • Beneficiary Identification Records Locator Subsystem (BIRLS) Death FileWhen a veteran dies, why is their basic service data locked up forever behind a $300/year commercial website's paywall?
          Litigation in progress! FOIA lawsuit filed in United States District Court (SDNY) on September 17, 2018.
        • Social Security Applications and Claims IndexAlmost 100,000,000 public records have been available only through a $300/year paywalled commercial website. We're gonna change that.
          FOIA request filed with Social Security Administration on September 20, 2017
        • Close
      • New Jersey
        • New Jersey Birth, Marriage, and Death Indices, 1901-1903 and 1901-1914We acquired and published the first public twentieth century vital records indices for New Jersey.
          No litigation needed! All records online.
        • New Jersey Death Index, 1904-2017Why should these records be available if you're onsite at the state archives, but not available on the Internet?
          Legal wrangling but no litigation needed! All records online.
        • New Jersey Marriage Index, 1901-2016We acquired and published the first-ever data set of everyone married in the Garden State
          Legal wrangling, but no litigation needed! All records online.
        • Close
      • New York City
        • Brooklyn (Kings County) “Old Town” RecordsWelcome to the single stupidest lawsuit we've ever had to file against a government agency
          Litigation in progress! Case filed October 15, 2018.
        • Geographical Index to New York City Births, late 19th century – early 20th centuryHey, remember how the NYC Dept of Health "retroactively classified" the NYC birth index, removing it from the public? Well, they forgot one of them. But we didn't!
          No litigation needed! Microfilms being digitally scanned right now.
        • Index to New York City domestic partnership records, 1993-2017🌈All people and all families deserve to have their genealogical records available to them.
          NY FOIL request in planning stage against NYC Clerk's Office
        • Index to New York City Marriage Licenses, 1908-1929What do you do when a city archive won’t share its records with the public? Fight back. Read about our pilot project that started it all.
          Litigation successful! All records online.
        • Index to New York City Marriage Licenses, 1930-1995Yes, you can fight city hall — and win! Of course, it helps if the city refuses to return your e-mails and calls until you take them to court.
          Litigation successful! All records online (minus Queens 1971-72 images)
        • Index to New York City Marriage Licenses, 1996-2017Wait, you mean we’re gonna have to sue the same city agency again? Over the same records set? After they lost to us last time?
          Litigation successful! All records online
        • List of Registered Voters in New York City for 1924Historical voter data is often covered by Freedom of Information laws. We were the first to publish this often-overlooked resource online.
          No litigation needed! All records online.
        • New York City Birth Certificates, 1910-1917They're more than 100 years old, but NYC won't let us see them.
          NY FOIL request in planning stage against NYC DOH
        • New York City death certificates 1949-1968 and nullification of NYC DOH records access rulesRemember that time the NYC DOH ignored ~6,000 public comments unanimously in opposition to their terrible records access rules?
          Litigation in progress! Case filed April 17, 2019.
        • Close
      • New York State
        • Index to Deaths in Albany, New York, 1880-1915Corruption's such an old song that we can sing along in harmony, And nowhere is it stronger than in Albany
          NY FOIL request filed with Albany City Clerk's Office on September 6, 2017
        • Index to Deaths in Buffalo, New York, 1852-1944These records were sitting on a hard drive in a city government's Inactive Records Center, not online for public use. We fixed that.
          No litigation needed! All records online.
        • Index to Deaths in Yonkers, New York, c. 1870-1915"Out there, there's a world outside of Yonkers..."
          FOIL Appeal (constructive denial) sent March 13, 2019
        • Index to New York State Births (Outside of New York City), 1881-1942Finally, New York researchers can ditch the microfiche sheets and join the twenty-first century.
          No litigation needed! All records online.
        • Index to New York State Deaths (Outside of New York City), 1880-1956It took us seventeen months of fighting with the government just to get a list of the names of dead people.
          Legal wrangling but no litigation needed! All records online.
        • Index to New York State Marriages (Outside of New York City), 1881-2017NYS DOH gave us only half of the files we'd requested, and initially they didn't even explain why. So we sued them -- and won!
          Litigation successful! Case filed August 24, 2018, judgment rendered March 13, 2019, files due for release in early/mid 2019
        • Close
      • Washington
        • Washington State Marriage, Divorce, and Death Indices, c. 1907-2017The legislature now wants to lock away indices that have always been public. Nuh-uh.
          Washington PRA request filed with Dept. of Health, Secretary of State, and State Archives on January 30, 2019.
        • Close
      • Wyoming
        • Wyoming Marriage, Death, and Divorce Indices, 1900-1965Frozen in a snowbank outside of Laramie? We got your record. Thrown off your wagon team in Cheyenne? We got your record too.
          Coming soon...
        • Close
    • Close
  • Donate

New York State

Reclaim The Records vs. New York State Department of Health

Reclaim The Records vs. New York State Department of Health

In the summer of 2018, Reclaim The Records launched a Freedom of Information lawsuit against the New York State Department of Health to find out why they treated our Freedom of Information [...]

READ MORE
Index to Deaths in Yonkers, New York, c. 1870-1915

Index to Deaths in Yonkers, New York, c. 1870-1915

As a follow-up to our successful FOIL request to get the New York State death index 1880-1956, we turned our attention to the handful of missing years and localities in that index. One of those [...]

READ MORE
Index to Deaths in Buffalo, New York, 1852-1944

Index to Deaths in Buffalo, New York, 1852-1944

As a follow-up to our successful FOIL request to get the New York State death index 1880-1956, we turned our attention to the handful of missing years and localities in that index. One of those [...]

READ MORE
Index to Deaths in Albany, New York, 1880-1915

Index to Deaths in Albany, New York, 1880-1915

As a follow-up to our successful FOIL request to get the New York State death index 1880-1956, we turned our attention to the handful of missing years and localities in that index. One of those [...]

READ MORE
Index to New York State Births (Outside of New York City), 1881-1942

Index to New York State Births (Outside of New York City), 1881-1942

In September 2017, Reclaim The Records made a new FOIL request of the New York State Department of Health (NYS DOH), asking for the first-ever public copy of the basic index to all births in New [...]

READ MORE
Index to New York State Marriages (Outside of New York City), 1881-2017

Index to New York State Marriages (Outside of New York City), 1881-2017

We won our Freedom of Information request for the New York State marriage index for 1881-1965! But then the New York State Department of Health refused to hand over the post-1965 marriage [...]

READ MORE
Index to New York State Deaths (Outside of New York City), 1880-1956

Index to New York State Deaths (Outside of New York City), 1880-1956

On January 3, 2016, Reclaim The Records submitted a FOIL request to the New York State Department of Health for a copy of the entire New York City death index, from June 1880 [...]

READ MORE
@ReclaimTheRecs on Twitter
Retweet on TwitterReclaim The Records Retweeted
familytreegirlfamilytreegirl@familytreegirl·

The Midwest African American Genealogy Institute (@MAAGIInstitute ) is open to anyone who wants to learn how to conduct African American genealogy. We just want students who want to learn and combat myths. July 9-11. @blackprogen #blackhistory #genealogy

ReclaimTheRecsReclaim The Records@ReclaimTheRecs·

Dear genealogy companies, could you please tell your social media teams to lay off tweeting "come see how are you related to [historical person X]!" especially when person X was a mass murderer and committed genocide? Maybe stick to harmless fluffy celebrities?

much obliged, thx

ReclaimTheRecsReclaim The Records@ReclaimTheRecs·

We just got a state death index where the archivists chose to note the deceased’s name, the county, year, certificate number — and the deceased person’s color.

They ignored age, gender, marital status — but not race.

Our history crystallized in the very shape of the records.

ReclaimTheRecsReclaim The Records@ReclaimTheRecs·

The death of James McCord, the leader of the Watergate burglars and longtime CIA operative, went completely unnoticed by the news media for two years!

If only there were a group out there fighting to make death records more available to the public... 🤔

https://t.co/KAj45HF8ef

Retweet on TwitterReclaim The Records Retweeted
adopteelawAdoptee Rights Law@adopteelaw·

Read this, an interview with a @ReclaimTheRecs board member. Especially the issue of NAPHSIS. https://t.co/AdolWbbbx2

Retweet on TwitterReclaim The Records Retweeted
GenealogysstarJames Tanner@Genealogysstar·

Reclaim the Records Files the Biggest Lawsuit Ever https://t.co/8hawVk8Rcq

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Reclaim The Records is an IRS-recognized 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Our EIN is 81-4985446. Contact us at [email protected]

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