Amateur genealogists beginning their searches through the vital records at the state or county level will find useful resources on this web site. Organized by state and then by county, these pages present instructions on how to make inquiries concerning vital records. In addition to general guidelines on what data to include in a request for birth, marital, and death records, each state's page has addresses for both state and county records offices and information about fees. All fifty states and several US possessions are included. There are also links to other local and national genealogy resources, as well as state and local historical societies, which can often be a good source for genealogical information.