Frequently Asked Questions about Indian Family Records

The free assessment suggests the route most likely to fit the information you give us. Before you pay, you can choose between one and four centres, and the price updates as you do. Our team reviews the suggested route, but it cannot guarantee that a record exists.

Yes. There's no charge for completing the assessment or seeing the suggested route. You sign in so your answers and progress can be saved securely.

Only after you've seen the suggested centre or centres, chosen which ones to search, decided on the entry/update option and reviewed the exact price.

No. Your assessment answers, edits, recordings and transcripts all carry into your case once payment is complete.

Only once payment has gone through. Starting or saving an assessment doesn't create a research case on its own.

Indian families and descendants anywhere in the world who want help finding, translating and preserving the traditional family registers held in India.

No. A researcher in India visits the relevant centre on your behalf, so you do not need to travel or know the centre yourself.

A researcher in India visits the selected centre, works with the local register holder and searches the handwritten records in person. You receive a clear account of the visit and, where your family's entry is found and permission allows, photographs, transcription and translation.

That's fine — the free assessment works with whatever you know, such as surname, community or the names of older relatives, and suggests the most likely centre. More detail simply helps narrow things down.

We cannot guarantee that a record will be found — not every family has a surviving entry. What we can promise is a genuine, in-person search at the centre most likely to hold your family's record.

A clear account of what was searched and found. Where your family's entry is located and permission allows, this can include photographs, a transcription, a translation and material for your family archive.

Yes. You control who is given access to your case and the final archive.

It's what we and our researchers use to identify the strongest starting centre and locate your family's register. The more you can share — ancestral village, gotra, surname, names of older relatives — the more confidently a match can be made.

Give your best estimate and add a short note. Approximate years, nicknames and alternative spellings are all useful, and you can refine your answers at any time.

Yes. Most questions have a microphone button so you can speak your answer in English, Hindi or Punjabi.

No. Your answers are saved automatically, so you can leave and return whenever you're ready.

Family registers are organised by family line, so a tree helps identify the right one. Even a small tree — you, your parents, your grandparents — gives the researcher a strong starting point.

Start with yourself, then your father, paternal grandfather and paternal great-grandfather if known. Entries typically follow the paternal line, so this is where a match is most likely.

Open any person in the tree and use the + buttons for parent, child, partner or sibling. You can edit or remove a person at any time.

You're welcome to add maternal relatives too — they help build a fuller picture — though the paternal line is the priority for the register search.

Add what you know and leave a short note. The researcher will help confirm and correct details as the case progresses.

An entry or update may be possible once the appropriate register holder and family connection have been confirmed. It is optional, costs £100 in addition to the search, and is only used if the register holder accepts the information.

An approximate date, the place of passing, the cremation place if relevant, and the name of any officiating priest all help keep the register accurate.

The child's full name, an approximate date and place of birth, and ideally a parent selected from your family tree. You can leave gotra blank and we'll fill it in.

Add the person getting married, then the spouse's full name, father's name, gotra and native village. This helps connect both families correctly.

It's held in your case alongside your questionnaire answers. When you submit for research, our team reviews it and carries any approved updates into your family register entry where the record holder accepts them.

The search at the first centre is £395. You can add a second centre for +£200, a third for +£150 and a fourth for +£150, up to a maximum of four. An optional register entry or update is £100, added once per order.

Payments are taken securely in GBP at checkout. Any fees due to researchers and priests in India are included in the price you pay, so there is nothing extra to arrange.

Yes — a receipt is emailed automatically and is always available in your account.

Yes. Your case, documents and findings are confidential and are never sold or used for any other purpose.