The National Archives will be increasing the price of Military Service Records from $10 to $17.50 Pension Records (Rev. War, Civil War, etc.) from $10 to $40 Effective July 1, 2000

I was told this information by a staff member of the National Archives this last Saturday in Washington, DC. You might want to get any orders in before the increase.

Lynda Suffridge, President
Arkansas Genealogical Society
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There is a bit of "jumping the gun" going on with regard to this fee increase. It is still just a proposal. The FGS/NGS Records Preservation and Access Committee has been in contact with NARA officials about this proposal and will attempt to keep you informed both as to what the proposal actually will say, and where and how to submit your comments on it.

While NARA is considering a change to the fees for copies of service and pension records, the proposed new regulation must be published in the Federal Register and will be open for comment before in can be placed into effect. Besides the increased fees, there are potential benefits for researchers from the changes under consideration, and as Marie Melchiori has pointed out, the changes will impact the entire NARA system, not just the Mid-Atlantic Region. Until the proposal is completed and clears the Office of Management and Budget it is premature to discuss specifics. How long before we can? We don't know yet.

Jack Brissee
Chair, FGS/NGS Records Preservation & Access Committee
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There have been postings on a number of mail lists recently about an increase in the fees the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) charges for copies of compiled military service records and pension records. While NARA is considering a change to the fee structure for these documents, the information that has been posted is both premature and somewhat inaccurate. The Records Preservation and Access Committee, a joint endeavor of the Federation of Genealogical Societies and the National Genealogical Society, has contacted NARA officials for clarification. The following is the "official NARA statement" issued in response to our inquiry:

-Begin NARA Statement: The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) will be issuing a proposed rule within the next few weeks that will revise fees for reproduction, including the "fixed-fee" orders in the NATF 80 series. The proposed rule will have a 60-day public comment period, during which time we will actively seek the comments of the user community. The proposed rule is presently undergoing internal government review. When it is released for publication in the Federal Register, NARA will notify the national genealogical organizations and post a copy of the proposed rule on its web site. The message will include the exact URL and the address for sending comments. -End NARA Statement-

The Records Preservation and Access Committee will continue to monitor this proposal, and will post relevant information on the Records Preservation and Access pages of the Federation of Genealogical Societies' Web site (http:www.fgs.org) when it is available.

Please feel free to forward this posting to other mail lists on which the original posting may have appeared.

Jack Brissee
Chair, FGS/NGS Records Preservation and Access Committee

UPDATE: Since prices change often and are beyond our control, we recommend that you check https://www.archives.gov/research/genealogy