Research How-To · Hiring a genealogist
Many American families get a long way with free databases and then stop at the same point: the village is uncertain, the records are in Russian or Latin, or the registers are not online. That is when a professional Polish genealogist is worth the money. Here is how to choose one.
When it makes sense to hire help
- You have searched the American records but cannot identify the village with confidence
- The records you need are in an archive or parish and not online
- The records are in Russian, Latin or old German handwriting you cannot read
- You need certified copies for Polish citizenship or another legal purpose
- You want the whole family documented, not just one line
What a good genealogist should offer
- Experience with the partition and archives that your family’s records are in
- The ability to read Polish, Latin, Russian and German records, or a translator who can
- A published scope and fixed price or budget before payment, followed by a written case-specific plan before archival research begins
- An image of every record found, with the archive and reference number
- Full translations, not summaries
- A written report that explains the reasoning, including what was not found and why
Questions to ask before you pay
- Does the published service include online and on-site archive research, and when will the case-specific research plan be prepared?
- What will I receive at the end, and in what format?
- What happens if the records do not survive, or the village cannot be confirmed?
- Are archive fees, copies and translations included in the price?
- How long will it take, and how will you keep me informed?
What it costs
Professional research is usually priced by the hour or as a fixed project. The cost depends much less on the number of records than on how many archives must be contacted and how much has to be read to find them. As an example of project pricing, our own research projects start at $1,290 for 10 hours, which usually covers identifying an ancestral village, and $2,900 for 25 hours, which usually adds the first generations of Polish records. Archive correspondence, copying fees and translation are included.
Warning signs
- A guarantee of results before the records have been checked
- No sources or images in the report, only a family tree
- An offer of a “family crest” or coat of arms for your surname
- Open-ended hourly billing with no budget or reporting
How to prepare
Gather everything the family already has, even if it seems useless: naturalization papers, obituaries, prayer cards, letters with Polish stamps, photographs with a studio name. A genealogist who can start from your documents rather than from the census saves you hours of paid time.
Ask for the evidence, not just the answer. A good genealogist will show you why a record belongs to your family.
Choose a starting point for your Polish research
| What you already know | A practical starting point | Published price |
|---|---|---|
| Your ancestor lived in America, but the Polish village is uncertain | FOCUS10: 10 research hours to investigate the American clues and candidate localities | $1,290 |
| You want the village investigation and the first generations of Polish records | ESSENTIAL25: 25 research hours for a broader research goal | $2,900 |
| You know the person, parish and approximate year, and need one entry | Single Document Retrieval | $195 per record |
| You already have a record image and need to understand it | Document Translation | $60 per record |
These are starting points, not promises of a particular discovery. For a research project, your written plan confirms a realistic scope before research hours are used. Compare the published project scopes, read the fictional sample report and check the Plan-First Guarantee and refund terms before ordering.
Polish genealogy research cost: questions to ask
Does the price depend on how many ancestors are found?
Our projects buy a defined number of research hours. They do not guarantee a number of ancestors, certificates or generations. The question, locality and surviving sources determine what can be established within those hours.
What should be included in the quote?
Check research hours, archive correspondence, visits where needed, copying, translations and reporting. Our published project prices include archive fees, copying and translation; the project page lists its deliverables and usual timing.
Should I order one document or a research project?
A single-document service fits a known person, parish and approximate year. If the locality or identity is uncertain, a research project allows time to investigate those questions first. Read the proposed scope and refund terms before paying.
Sources and research tools
How we can help
Bring the American records you have already found, the ancestor’s name variants and the question you want answered. PoloniaRoots publishes fixed prices in US dollars, including archive correspondence, copying and translation. Submit your details on the service page and complete Stripe payment; we then prepare the case-specific plan before research begins. Your report explains the findings, uncertainties and unsuccessful searches.