On January 13, 2026, New York Governor Hochul delivered her 2026 State of the State address and released an accompanying policy handbook, which includes the item "Improving Vital Records Access" on page 132. It says that Governor Hochul intends to make overdue technological improvements to the vital records system, launching an effort to digitize archival records for genealogical requests and converting historical birth, death, and marriage certificates into electronic, searchable formats as a means to address the current two-year backlog of more than 2,000 genealogical records requests.
The NYG&B is heartened to see that the Governor is taking this issue under consideration. On February 10, 2026, NYG&B President and CEO D. Joshua Taylor submitted public comments to legislators on the New York State Senate Standing Committee on Finance and New York State Assembly Standing Committee on Ways and Means regarding the Governor’s proposal to address this issue.
In his public comments, Mr. Taylor expressed his support for the Governor's proposal to invest $7 million to modernize New York's vital records program. He also included recommendations for strengthening continued access to vital records for New Yorkers. See the full letter here.
We are encouraged that this is the beginning of a solution to a long-standing situation. While the outstanding requests are potentially higher, and many have been waiting far longer than two years, this is a positive step toward a resolution in restoring more timely access to these materials for researchers.
The NYG&B will continue to monitor the situation closely as it evolves; coordinate with organizations and leaders in the genealogy and family history field on responsive efforts and strategies for addressing this issue; and share next steps and updates with our community as they arise.