DIY: you coordinate the whole file
DIY can make sense when the family chain is short, the dates are clear and you are comfortable reading the official instructions. You choose the repositories, order certificates, arrange accepted translations and submit the application.
Our project’s rough planning allowance of $300–600 for a straightforward DIY case is an estimate, not an official tariff or a universal total. Document availability, the country of issue, shipping and translation volume can move that figure substantially. Your own research time is additional.
A researcher finds and explains evidence
Research is useful when you know the legal question but cannot find the document, read the handwriting or connect the right people. Ask for the archive reference, scan, transcription, translation and the reasoning behind each family link.
We sell two research services. The $79 Polish Pre-check reviews one line’s documents against the loss rules and lists the records to find next. The $890 Evidence File covers one line, up to four generations, with additional relatives on that same chain at $190 each. Our checker and Passport Finder are free.
A lawyer assesses the legal consequences
Legal review becomes especially valuable when the issue is the effect of a historical naturalization, marriage, military service, permission to change citizenship or a disputed identity. Representation, appeals and procedural remedies are different services again.
Before hiring, request a written scope that names who handles archive work, who provides the legal opinion and who submits the file. Ask what happens when the evidence is unfavorable. A large fee does not make a missing legal basis disappear.
Published comparisons need a date and a fair scope
Project research on 21 October 2026 recorded Mavins at $770 for standard document search and $1,600 for confirmation, and Lexmotion at $420–935 for search and $1,990 for confirmation. Those confirmation offers contain work beyond our research file.
For village identification, Polish Genius was recorded at $250 with a refund if the village is not found. Village identification alone is a narrower task than a citizenship evidence file. Prices, inclusions and taxes can change; use the linked provider pages to request a current written quote.
Separate government fees from service prices
The Polish ministry lists PLN 277 for a domestic confirmation decision and a possible PLN 17 power-of-attorney fee, subject to exemptions. It explicitly says consular submissions use the consular tariff. The US mission page lists $118 for submission at the time checked.
Do not add every displayed fee automatically: the correct payment path depends on where and how you apply. Certified copies, translation, authentication, registration of foreign civil acts and the eventual passport can involve further costs. Confirm the current office instructions for your case.
Buy the next useful answer
If the village is unknown, find the place first. If the village is known but a naturalization date is missing, investigate that date first. If you already hold the full evidence chain and the uncertainty is legal, more genealogy may not help.
The $79 Pre-check fee is credited toward an Evidence File. If an Evidence File finds no qualifying line, you pay only $79 and the rest is refunded. Orders are by email: you get a written scope and a payment link before any work starts.
What a research fee should make visible
The sample’s 1828 birth entry is not merely a surname in a tree. It has a repository, act number, scan crop, reading and translation. The separate comparison with the 1852 marriage explains the family link. That is inspectable research work; neither record is a paid-for guarantee of modern citizenship.
27ROZNISZEW, POLAND · 2 NOV 1828“Dziecięciu temu na Chrzcie Świętym […] nadane zostało Imię Karol”
At holy baptism, the child was given the name Karol.
Historical family research. This record does not establish any modern applicant’s citizenship eligibility.
Read the full record cardSources & review date
Our prices are the fixed prices on our pricing page; you get a written scope before paying. Competitor prices are dated observations from project research on 21 October 2026, not live quotes. Official fee information was checked on 22 October 2026. Compare scope and confirm terms before paying.
Article reviewed . Linked authorities may revise their instructions after this date.
- Polish Ministry: confirmation procedure, domestic fees and timing
- Polish missions in the United States: documents and consular submission
- Mavins: published service scope and prices
- Lexmotion: published pricing
- Polish Genius: village-search service
- Original sample scan: Rozniszew, birth act 27/1828
