How we check every fact
Every fee, time, rule, form and address on this site comes from an official source, is read by two researchers separately, and is published only when the exact sentence is found in our dated copy of that source.
On this page
Official sources only
We use the pages, forms and fee schedules of the state, city or territory vital records office; the statute or administrative rule it cites; county offices and courts where they hold the record; and federal agencies for federal rules (the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security, the Social Security Administration and the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics). We do not use commercial sites as sources.
Every fact has a quote
For each fact we keep the exact sentence or table cell from the source, the address of the source, the date the source itself shows (an effective date, a form revision or a "last updated" date) and the date we checked it. Before publication a script confirms that every quoted sentence appears word for word in our archived copy of the source. On the site, tap the small number next to a fact to read that sentence.
Two independent readings
A first researcher extracts the facts. A second researcher, working from the same sources without seeing the first reading, extracts them again and compares value by value. Any difference is resolved by reading the deciding sentence; a fact that stays in doubt is not published.
What we leave out
We never estimate. If a state does not publish a processing time for mail orders, the page shows the times it does publish and nothing for mail. If two official pages disagree, we leave the fact out until the office resolves it. Where a reader needs to know that a figure is missing, we say the state does not publish it.
Pages that refuse visits or move
Some official sites refuse automated visits. We never work around that; we use another official page, the agency's own PDF, or a dated Internet Archive copy of the official page, and the source list says when we did.
Keeping it current
Fees and processing times are re-checked at least every 90 days, and addresses and forms at least every 180 days. A fact past those limits is held back until it is checked again. When a state changes a fee, we record the old and new amounts in the change log. Each page shows one "Last checked" date: the most recent check of the sources it cites.
Calculations
The tools and the national tables only rearrange published facts: they add up fees the state publishes, or sort them. They do not fill gaps.