Hiring a Genealogist: Questions to Ask Before You Start

Before you sign anything, the questions you ask a genealogist matter more than the ones they ask you. Hiring the right professional is the difference between a documented, source-cited answer you can act on and an expensive pile of records that never connects. The good news is that you do not need to be an expert to evaluate one. You need a short list of the right questions covering credentials, relevant experience, scope, pricing, and communication, and you need to know what a solid answer to each one sounds like.

This guide walks through the questions worth asking a professional genealogist before the work begins, why each one protects you, and how to read the answers. It also covers what you should bring to that first conversation, because the more you share up front, the less you pay for research you have already done yourself.

What credentials should a professional genealogist have?

Genealogy is an unregulated field, so no license is required to call yourself a professional, which makes credentials and standards the first thing to ask about. The two credentials that carry real weight in the United States come from independent testing bodies: the Certified Genealogist (CG) credential from the Board for Certification of Genealogists, founded in 1964, and the Accredited Genealogist (AG) credential from the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists. Both require candidates to pass a rigorous portfolio or examination process, and both must be renewed every five years through fresh competency review, so the credential reflects current work, not a one-time achievement decades ago.

A credential is a strong signal, but its absence is not disqualifying. Many excellent genealogists build reputations on regional expertise and a track record of published, source-cited work rather than a set of postnominal letters. What you are really testing for is whether the person works to a professional standard. Ask directly whether they follow the Genealogical Proof Standard, the five-part framework that defines sound genealogical conclusions.

Do they have real experience with my region and record type?

This is the single most important question, because genealogy expertise is deeply specific, not general. A genealogist who is superb with New England vital records may have never touched a Quebec parish register, a Minnesota probate file, or a Bureau of Indian Affairs enrollment record. The Association of Professional Genealogists advises asking whether the researcher specializes in the localities, time periods, and topics your project actually requires.

Be concrete when you ask. If your problem is proving a line back to a Canadian ancestor, ask how many citizenship-related or cross-border cases they have handled. If it involves possible Native American ancestry, ask specifically about tribal enrollment research, which follows federal and tribal rules that differ completely from ordinary genealogy. If it is a legal matter such as locating heirs, ask whether they do forensic or legal genealogy and whether they have worked with attorneys before. A candid professional will tell you when a project sits outside their wheelhouse and, ideally, refer you to someone better suited. That honesty is itself a good sign.

What information should I bring to the first conversation?

Bring everything you already have, because a good genealogist wants to build on your work, not bill you to rediscover it. Share the documents, family trees, names, dates, places, and prior research you have collected, even if you are unsure it is accurate. This lets the researcher start where you left off rather than charging you to find a death certificate already sitting in your files.

Be equally clear about your goal, because “learn about my family” and “prove my great-grandmother was born in Quebec so I can document a citizenship claim” lead to very different projects. A well-defined objective lets the genealogist scope the work realistically and tell you whether it is even answerable with surviving records. If you are weighing whether your question is a family-history curiosity or a documentation project with a legal endpoint, our piece on the difference between genealogy and family history is a useful primer before that first call.

How do genealogists charge, and what is included?

Most professionals bill by the hour, and rates vary widely, so the important move is to pin down exactly what the rate covers before you commit. According to APG guidance, hourly rates commonly range from around thirty or forty dollars per hour to well over two hundred dollars per hour depending on experience, credentials, and specialization. Some genealogists offer a flat rate for well-defined projects, and most ask for a retainer up front against which hours are drawn.

The questions that prevent unpleasant surprises are about what falls outside the hourly rate. Ask whether record-retrieval fees, such as ordering a certified death certificate from a state office, are billed separately, because they almost always are. Ask whether travel time to archives is billable and how photocopies, postage, and database subscriptions are handled. Then ask what happens when the retainer runs out before the answer is found, which is common in difficult cases. Genealogy is bought in hours of skilled work, not in guaranteed results, so understanding the fee structure is understanding what you are actually buying.

What will the final deliverable actually be?

Ask to see a sample report before you hire, because the report is the product and its quality varies enormously between practitioners. A professional deliverable is not a list of names or a printed tree. It is a written report that states what was researched, presents the evidence found, cites every source so another researcher could retrace the path, analyzes conflicting information, and reaches a reasoned conclusion. That structure is the Genealogical Proof Standard in practice, and the BCG ethics and standards framework is what separates a credible finding from a guess.

Requesting a redacted work sample tells you more than any credential. You will see whether their citations are complete, whether they distinguish proven facts from probable ones, and whether the writing is clear enough to be useful to you, your family, or an attorney. If a genealogist cannot or will not show you an example of their reporting, treat that as a warning. To calibrate what a strong finished product looks like, see our breakdown of what a genealogical research report looks like.

How will we communicate, and what does the agreement say?

Settle communication and the written agreement before work starts, because most disputes trace back to mismatched expectations rather than bad research. Ask how often you will receive updates, in what form, and who initiates them. Ask what happens if the research hits a brick wall, since surviving records sometimes cannot answer a question no matter how skilled the researcher, and a professional will tell you that honestly rather than billing indefinitely.

Insist on a written agreement, and know that reputable professionals expect this. The APG Code of Ethics requires members to prepare and abide by written agreements covering scope, timeframes, deliverables, fees, and ownership, and to safeguard the confidentiality of client information. The APG Code of Ethics, updated in 2024, also requires members to represent their credentials accurately and to communicate findings from reliable, fully cited sources without misrepresenting the evidence. A genealogist who works to that standard will welcome a clear written scope, because it protects both of you.

What questions signal a genealogist to avoid?

Watch for anyone who guarantees results, quotes a price without understanding your problem, or cannot explain their sources. No honest genealogist promises to break a brick wall or connect you to a specific famous ancestor before doing the research, because the records either exist or they do not. A guarantee of a particular outcome is a promise about evidence no one has seen yet.

Be equally cautious with a researcher who resists a written agreement, will not share a work sample, is vague about how expenses are billed, or overstates credentials. If someone claims to be “certified” but cannot name the certifying body or their credential does not appear in that body’s public directory, verify it. Both major credentialing organizations maintain searchable directories precisely so clients can confirm who holds a current credential. The right genealogist answers all of these questions readily, because transparency is the foundation of the work. If you want a fuller picture of the engagement from start to finish, our guide on what to expect when you hire a professional genealogist walks through the whole process.