Obtaining Archival Certificates
What Is an Archival Certificate and When Do You Need to Obtain One?
An archival certificate is an official document issued by an archival institution on the basis of records held in its collections. It contains information relevant to a specific request and includes reference details identifying the archival records used to prepare the response.
Obtaining an archival certificate is most commonly necessary when an original document has been lost, a particular fact needs to be officially confirmed, or historical information is required. For example, a person may need an archival certificate when applying for a pension, confirming a period of employment or study, collecting records concerning family members, or preparing documents for submission abroad.
An important feature of an archival certificate is that the archive does not create new information or supplement existing records with assumptions. The certificate contains only information that is actually documented in archival sources.
What Information Can an Archival Certificate Confirm?
Depending on the records available in a particular archival collection, an archival certificate may confirm employment history, salary, education, employment in a specific position, awards, property rights, and other facts.
Archives may also hold records containing information about births, marriages, deaths, and family relationships. However, an archival certificate should not be confused with obtaining a duplicate certificate or an extract from the State Register of Civil Status Acts of Citizens. These are separate procedures.
What Types of Archival Documents Can You Obtain?
An archival certificate is not the only document that may be issued in response to an archival request. Depending on the purpose of the request and the records that have been preserved, an applicant may receive an archival certificate, an archival copy, or an archival extract.
Archival Certificate, Archival Copy, and Archival Extract: What Is the Difference?
All three are based on archival records, but they differ in their content and purpose.
| Document Type | What It Contains | When It May Be Required |
|---|---|---|
| Archival certificate | Information relevant to the request, confirmed by archival records and accompanied by archival reference details | To confirm employment history, salary, education, or other facts |
| Archival copy | A complete reproduction of the text or image of a specific archival document | When a copy of the document as preserved in the archive is required |
| Archival extract | A certified reproduction of the part of an archival document relating to a specific matter | When only certain information from a document is required rather than a complete copy |
Before submitting a request to an archive, it is therefore advisable to check the requirements of the authority or organisation to which the document will ultimately be submitted. In some cases, an archival certificate will be sufficient, while in others an archival copy or extract may be specifically required.
Where Should You Look for the Archival Certificate You Need?
Archival records must be requested from the institution where they are actually held. This may be a state archive, a regional archival institution, a specialised archive, an archive maintained by a local authority, an organisation or institution, or its legal successor.
The current location of an organisation does not necessarily indicate where its historical records are stored. Over the decades, institutions may have been dissolved or reorganised, changed their names or administrative affiliation, and transferred their records to other organisations or archives.
What If You Do Not Know Which Archive Holds the Records?
The first step is to determine who created the document, approximately when it was created, and where the relevant organisation operated. The more accurate the initial information, the easier it is to identify the likely place where the records are now held.
It is useful to collect all available supporting information, such as old certificates, employment record book entries, diplomas, civil status certificates, names of institutions, and any previous names under which they operated. If an archival request is sent to the wrong institution, in cases provided for by the applicable rules it may be forwarded to the appropriate authority, or the applicant may be advised where to submit the request instead.
What If the Company or Institution Has Been Dissolved?
The dissolution of a company does not automatically mean that its records have been lost. The first step is to establish whether the organisation has a legal successor and where its personnel and other records were transferred.
Records from a dissolved company may be held by the institution to which its documentation was transferred or by an archival institution. Such requests are particularly common when people need to confirm their employment history or salary for pension purposes.
If the organisation changed its name several times, it is useful to provide all known versions of the name when requesting an archival search.
What Documents and Information Are Required to Obtain an Archival Certificate?
To obtain an archival certificate, you first need to submit a request containing sufficient information for the archive to conduct a search. Any additional documents required will depend on the nature of the information requested, the archival institution concerned, and whether the request is submitted by the individual or by a representative.
For the administrative service involving the issuance of archival certificates, copies, or extracts required for social protection purposes, an application and a copy of the applicant’s passport are required. Different requirements may apply to other types of requests.
What Information Should You Provide for an Archival Search?
The request should contain as much accurate information as possible, including:
- the surname, first name, and patronymic, where applicable, of the person concerned, as well as any previous surnames;
- the exact date or at least an approximate period of the event, employment, or study;
- the locality and, where possible, the name it had at the relevant time;
- the full name, or the name known to the applicant, of the company, educational institution, or other organisation;
- the specific fact that needs to be confirmed and any other relevant details known to the applicant.
If some of this information is unavailable, an archival search may still be possible. However, a request to “find any information about a person” is considerably more difficult to process than one that provides a name, location, approximate year, and institution. Archives work with specific collections and finding aids, so every reliable additional detail helps narrow the search. Previous company names, order numbers, dates of employment and dismissal, faculty or field of study, and the historical name of a locality can all be particularly useful. If the request is submitted by a representative, documents confirming their authority may also be required. Separate requirements apply to restricted-access information, including proof that the applicant is entitled to obtain it.
How Does the Process of Obtaining an Archival Certificate Work?
The process involves several stages: identifying the document required, determining where the relevant records are held, preparing the request, conducting the archival search, and receiving the result. If the certificate is intended for use abroad, the translation and document preparation requirements should then be checked.
In practice, the process usually involves the following steps:
- Determine exactly which information needs to be confirmed.
- Identify the archive or other institution where the relevant records may be held.
- Prepare the request and the required supporting documents.
- The archive checks its finding aids and, where necessary, the archival records themselves.
- Based on the search results, the archive issues a certificate, copy, extract, or a response stating that the requested information could not be found.
- If necessary, the document is translated and prepared for submission to the relevant authority.
Correctly identifying where a document is held often takes more time than preparing the request itself. If the records are old, the organisation no longer exists, or administrative and territorial boundaries have changed, it may first be necessary to trace where the records were transferred and which archive currently holds them. It is therefore advisable to start the process of obtaining archival documents well in advance, particularly when a certificate is required by a specific deadline for pension proceedings, court proceedings, a consular procedure, or submission abroad.
Can You Obtain an Archival Certificate Remotely?
In many cases, yes. For certain administrative services, an application may be submitted by post and the completed document may be received by registered mail. The result may also be collected by an authorised representative.
Electronic submission options depend on the specific archival institution and the type of request, so there is no universal rule that every archival document can be ordered entirely online.
If the applicant lives abroad or prefers not to identify the appropriate archive and handle the correspondence independently, they can contact the Regional Translation Center. We can assist with arranging the retrieval of an archival certificate and, once it has been obtained, provide translation and further document preparation according to the intended purpose.
How Long Does It Take to Obtain an Archival Certificate and How Much Does It Cost?
The processing time and cost depend on the type of request and the scope of the archival search. The time limits applicable to one administrative service should not be assumed to apply to every type of archival request.
For the administrative service covering archival certificates, copies, or extracts required for social protection purposes, the official processing time is 15 calendar days when only the archive’s finding aids need to be consulted and 30 calendar days when the archival records themselves must be examined.
These time frames should not be regarded as guaranteed processing times for genealogical, thematic, or other types of archival research. More complex searches may be subject to different procedures and processing times depending on the nature of the request.
It is also important to distinguish between fees charged by an archive and the cost of professional assistance, translation, certification, or delivery services.
When Is an Archival Certificate Issued Free of Charge?
Archival certificates, copies, and extracts requested by individuals or legal entities for social protection purposes are issued free of charge.
However, not every archival request falls within this category. Thematic, genealogical, property-related, and other types of archival research may involve paid services under the rules of the relevant archival institution. Before placing a request, it is therefore advisable to clarify both the type of request and any applicable fees.
What Should You Do If the Archive Cannot Find the Information You Need?
A negative search result from one archive does not necessarily mean that the document no longer exists. The records may be held elsewhere, the request may not contain enough information, or the relevant collection may have been transferred to another institution.
The first step is to review the information provided in the request: the person’s full name and possible spelling variants, previous surnames, years of employment or study, the former name of the company, and the administrative affiliation of the locality at the relevant time.
It is also worth checking whether the institution was reorganised and whether its records were transferred to a legal successor or another archive. If a request falls outside an archive’s area of responsibility, the applicant may be advised where to continue the search or, where the applicable rules provide for this, the request may be forwarded to the appropriate institution.
A different situation arises when the archive confirms that the requested information is not present in its records. In that case, alternative sources and documents should be considered depending on the specific legal fact that needs to be established.
How Can an Archival Certificate Be Used Abroad?
A Ukrainian archival certificate can be used abroad, but the way it needs to be prepared depends on the destination country, the receiving authority, and the purpose for which it is being submitted. Simply obtaining the document in Ukraine may not always be sufficient.
Before arranging any further formalities, it is advisable to check the requirements of the authority that will receive the document. This helps avoid unnecessary procedures and the need to have the document prepared again.
When Does an Archival Certificate Need to Be Translated?
A translation is generally required when the certificate is being submitted to a foreign authority that does not accept documents in Ukrainian. The translation will usually need to be made into the official language of the destination country or another language accepted by the receiving authority.
Particular attention should be paid to surnames, first names, geographical names, company and institution names, and job titles. Their spelling in the translation should, wherever appropriate, be consistent with the person’s passport and other supporting documents. Even minor differences in transliteration may lead to additional questions when several documents are submitted together.
Does an Archival Certificate Require Additional Certification?
There is no single answer that applies to every country. Requirements depend on the destination country, the type of archival document, the authority that issued it, and the institution to which it will be submitted.
In some cases, a translation alone may be sufficient; in others, additional requirements may apply to the certification of the translation or the document itself. It is therefore best to establish the destination country and the specific receiving authority first and then determine the appropriate form of document preparation.
The Regional Translation Center can coordinate several stages of the process, including obtaining documents in Ukraine, providing professional translations, and arranging delivery of completed documents, including to clients who are currently abroad.
When Is It Worth Using Professional Assistance to Obtain an Archival Certificate?
Obtaining an archival certificate independently is entirely possible when you know where the records are held and the application procedure is clear. Professional assistance is particularly useful when the appropriate archive first needs to be identified or several related procedures need to be coordinated.
This may be relevant if the applicant is outside Ukraine, the company has been dissolved, the records date back many years, the name of an institution or locality has changed, or it is unclear where the archival request should be submitted.
Another common situation is when an archival certificate is required for use in another country. In this case, it is more convenient to consider the subsequent translation, document preparation requirements, and delivery from the outset.
The Regional Translation Center can assist with the entire process, from obtaining archival documents to preparing the resulting certificate for its intended use.
