Copies of post-1925 wills

[arthurk]

Hi everyone

I am thinking of obtaining copies of two wills and/or inventories from 1936 and 1942, and I rang the National Records of Scotland to ask about getting copies. I was told to put the request in an email, and that since they would charge on a per-page basis rather than per-will, they would get back to me with the cost.

Now I've had their reply, and they are asking for £15 for the estimate, which would then be deducted from the eventual cost of the wills if I decide to go ahead. If I decide not to, it's not refundable.

I'm a bit annoyed that I wasn't told about this charge when I first enquired, but before I cave in to them, to help me decide whether to go ahead and request the estimate, does anyone know roughly how much they charge per page for copying, please? I couldn't find this information on their website.

Thanks,

Arthur

[carlineric]

Hi

You can find the charges at http://www.nas.gov.uk/searchrooms/copyingservices.asp and downloading the PDF document. It looks like the £15 is an administration charge to cover the cost of preparing the estimate. The cost per A4/A3 copy is 50p so your £15 would cover up to 30 pages which may be enough for your two testaments.

Eric

[arthurk]

Many thanks, Eric - I'm not sure how I missed that. Anyway, 50p per page doesn't sound too bad - and in this case I think the wills may well be long enough to use up most of the £15.

Arthur

[carolineasb]

Did they say £15 for both or £15 each? These fees are likely to be an administrative "search" fee as someone likely has to go and find the original copies from storage unless they have managed to get to these dates online for the staff but I wouldn't think so.

[carlineric]

They way I read it is it is per an enquiry of up to 5 items.

Eric

[arthurk]

Yes, the £15 is said to cover up to 5 copies. To quote from the email I received:

Before preparing an estimate for copies [note use of plural], we require a non-refundable search and estimate fee of £15. This will be deducted from the estimate we send out to you. If you choose not to order the copies, the fee will not be returned....

We will estimate for copying pages from a maximum of five separate references. If you listed more than five separate references in your initial request, we will provide an estimate for copying the first five references only. You may submit a further request for copies once the first order has been paid for, copied and received by you.

Arthur