Research Support

The United Church of Canada Archives staff strive to support all users and researchers to access and search the collection.

How we can help

Reference archivists can help researchers:

  • Identify archival fonds that may pertain to a stated topic or research question
  • Explain how to access and search the UCCA’s collection via its online descriptive database, and how to navigate its digital finding aids
  • Demonstrate how to properly handle records in the reading room to prevent accidental damage
  • Interpret records where knowledgeable, including explanations of technical or subject-specific terminology, church history and administrative structure, or other vital contextual information needed to understand the collection
  • Create digital or physical copies of requested records (see fee schedule)

The UCCA will respond to all research inquiries within two weeks. Priority is given to internal requests from General Council, regional councils, communities of faith, and external requests from Indigneous Communities, residenital school survivors and their families.

The United Church of Canada Archives staff are unable to conduct research on an external user’s or researcher’s behalf. If a researcher is unable to visit the archives’ reading room, the UCCA can provide a list of professional researchers to come on their behalf.

Research Fees

The United Church of Canada Archives (UCCA) charges a $25 fee for 30 minutes of research time. Staff resources prohibit the UCCA from performing in-depth or exploratory research beyond 30 minutes.

For more in-depth research needs, researchers are encouraged to visit the Archives.  There is no fee to visit the Archives. If a researcher is unable to visit the UCCA reading room staff can provide a list of professional researchers or genealogists to come on their behalf.

The following are exempt from the UCCA Research Fee: internal requests from General Council, regional councils, communities of faith, and external requests from Indigenous Communities, residential/day school survivors and their families, those seeking adoption records, and seminary students.

Historical Research

UCCA will respond to requests within two weeks.

The following groups are prioritized: internal requests from General Council, regional councils, communities of faith and external requests from Indigenous Communities, residential/day school survivors and their families, and those seeking adoption records.

Please see Research Fees.

Genealogical Research

UCCA staff are happy to conduct confirmatory genealogical searches through baptismal, marriage, and burial registers [i.e. where a name is known, as well as a reasonably approximate date and congregation]. Researchers must supply the archives with the reference details (accession, box, and file number, found in the finding aids in the Archives’ descriptive database) in order for a confirmatory search to be conducted.
Searches through the Wesleyan Methodist Baptismal Register, or where a specific congregation/pastoral charge/circuit is unknown, will be subject to a fee (see Research Fees).

NOTE: Staff resources prohibit the UCCA from performing in-depth or exploratory genealogical research beyond 30 minutes. This includes requests to search registers from broad geographical areas, searches for multiple names or name variants, and requests that span large chronological periods.

For information on certified copies of baptism or marriage register entries, refer to our Certificate Requests page.