by appointment only 

beginning June 22nd, 2020 

until further notice.

For further assistance regarding research or FOIL, 

please call the main line at (585) 396-4376*

*Due to Covid-19 pandemic, this department may be working with reduced staff. If you are unable to reach anyone by phone, please leave a voicemail and someone will attend to your call as soon as possible. 
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Research services are provided by the RAIMS staff for requests received by mail, email, or our online Research & Retrieval Form. A link to these forms may be found below. While no fees are charged to in-person researchers, the fee for mail-in or electronic research requests is $40.00 per hour, chargeable in half-hour increments with a $20.00 minimum. Researchers working at RAIMS pay only a $0.25 cent fee for each page of each document copied. This same fee applies for copies requested via mail or electronically.

Policy

All requests for documents and research / retrieval time must be accompanied by a deposit check of $20 (for the first 30 minutes minimum.) The Assistant Records Management Officer will give you an estimate of costs beyond the initial $20. Then you may decide whether to continue. 

Please print and fill out the document request form and send it with your check made payable to Ontario County Records and Archives or RAIMS to: 

Assistant Records Management Officer
3051 County Complex Dr.
Canandaigua, NY 14424

The copy and other fees charged by RAIMS are established by local law or state statute. The research and retrieval fee for local and family history research was established by Board of Supervisors Resolution 432-2002, effective January 1, 2003.
For more on our Copies & Fees please see tables below.

Charges

Item	Fee
Research / retrieval	$40 / hour ($20 minimum)
Copying	$0.25 per page (plus postage)
Postage	Varies by weight of letter

These fees effective January 1, 2003, based on the Board of Supervisors Resolution 432-2002.

Fax Charges

Item	Fee / Page
Faxes	$0.25
Long distance faxes	$3.25

Make an Online Payment

Once you have received your fee quote, you have the option to pay using our online payment system GovPayNet.

Research Questions
Please, do not expect us to answer research questions over the telephone. We simply do not have sufficient staff for that type of service, but do not hesitate to direct any questions via email to the Assistant Records Management Officer.

Research will be handled on a first come, first served basis. If you have a substantial research project in mind, we may be able to get you in touch with a private researcher. The most satisfying method of research is, of course, to do it yourself - it is also cheaper.

In-House Research
Appointments to access the historical records at the Ontario County Records and Archives Center are not necessary. However, if you would like to call or email the ARMO ahead of time with your date of arrival and research topic, staff can be better prepared for your visit. This will also save you precious research time. There is no charge to perform in-house research at the Ontario County Records and Archives Center. Ample parking and free Wi-Fi is available on the premises, and researchers only pay for copies.