Searches: Send your family names and town accompanied by $100.00 US in the form of a check or money order. There will be an acknowledgement of your request by letter giving you information about your search and indication of the wait period. This can be as long as a year, and sometimes, even longer. A search will most likely be made of the Revision Lists as the Lithuanian State Historical Archives holds vital records only for the City of Vilnius. These vital records cover the period 1837-1915. Other records are kept in elsewhere. For example, if the town or shtetl is in the present Belarus, the vital records may be in the Belarus Archives. Or for records in towns located in Kovno Gubernia, one would write to the Kaunas Archives. For updated information be sure to check with the Litvak or Belarus SIG.

Several sources may also aid your searches: Jewish Vital Records, Revision Lists and Other Jewish Holdings in the Lithuanian Archives, compiled by Harold Rhode and Sallyann Amdur Sack, published by Avotaynu, Inc 1996. This publication  has a basic list of the holdings for the Lithuanian State Historical Archive. The Belarus Sig is constantly in the process of updating sources for towns currently in Belarus but formerly in Grand Duchy of Lithuania.