General FAQ

GenealogyDirect connects people looking for genealogical records or family-history help with independent researchers familiar with the relevant archives, regions, languages, and sources.

Anyone looking for family-history help can create an account. You can request help, contribute knowledge, or offer research services if you have the experience needed for the work.

Create a free account, complete your profile, and choose whether you need a copy of a specific record or help with a broader research question. Include what you already know and what you hope to find.

Creating an account is free. Document Copy Requests are paid; Research Questions can be free or paid. Review the price and any platform fee shown before confirming a paid arrangement.

A Document Copy Request asks for a specific record held by an archive or other repository and is always paid. A Research Question asks for help investigating a broader family-history problem and may be free or paid.

Find the relevant repository and start a Document Copy Request. Provide the archive reference, names, dates, and pages needed, as far as you know them. Check the available request options and describe the expected deliverables.

Create a Research Question describing your objective, known facts, sources already checked, and any relevant files. State whether you are seeking free help or paid research and explain the scope clearly.

Review researchers’ profiles and offers, including their experience, languages, geographical coverage, proposed work, price, and timeframe. Clarify the scope in the request discussion before accepting an offer.

Researchers choose which requests they take on. Check that your request is clear and includes enough information, and consider whether the scope and budget are realistic. Availability and a response are not guaranteed.

No. Records may be missing, restricted, illegible, or contain no relevant information. Agree on the work and expected deliverables; a research report can explain sources checked and negative findings without finding the hoped-for ancestor or record.

Depending on the request, you can set a fixed amount or invite offers. For paid research, review the proposed approach, time included, deliverables, and price before accepting.

For paid work, GenealogyDirect adds its platform fee to the researcher’s quoted compensation. Review the total and currency at checkout before paying. The platform fee is not deducted from that quoted compensation.

You pay when accepting the paid arrangement. The researcher’s compensation is released after the work is delivered and validated. Payment at acceptance and payment release after validation are separate steps.

A connected Stripe account is for receiving compensation as a researcher. As a client, follow the checkout flow and use an available payment method; you do not need to complete researcher payout onboarding.

For paid Research Questions, the researcher can propose a continuation explaining the additional scope and price. You decide whether to accept and pay for another phase. Additional work should not start before you agree.

Use the request’s discussion area to exchange information, clarify the scope, and receive updates. Keep agreements and request-related communication on GenealogyDirect so both parties have a record.

GenealogyDirect provides automatic translations for supported content, including request descriptions and messages. Write in your preferred language, but clarify names, dates, places, and important instructions if a translation is uncertain.

Document copies are delivered as uploaded photographs or digital files with relevant explanations. Research Questions can include an answer or report, a research log, and attachments. Review the agreed deliverables when the work is submitted.

Share information relevant to the request and be careful with sensitive information about living people. Avoid posting banking details, passwords, or unnecessary identity documents. Consult the Privacy Policy for information about personal data.

Discuss the situation with the researcher through the request. Ask what was checked and what prevents completion. Contact support if you need help with the arrangement; do not assume that every unsuccessful search has the same payment outcome.

Explain the issue in the request discussion and contact support if it remains unresolved. Refunds depend on the circumstances and the applicable Refund Policy. A particular research result or an automatic refund is not guaranteed.

GenealogyDirect is available on the web, through the iPhone app, and through its ChatGPT integration. An Android app is planned.

If the FAQs do not answer your question, sign in and open a support ticket. Choose the appropriate category and describe the issue, including the request reference if relevant. You can follow the conversation in My tickets.