Since the end of 2017, Family Search has required users to create an account and to log-in each time they want to have full access to the records on the site. This has been made necessary because Family Search is not the "owner" of a lot of the records displayed. It provides them as a service. And the organisations that do own many of the records that have now been digitised have banned "anonymous" access to their data sets.
The account is free and does not require you to provide any information that will compromise your private data. You can be confident that creating an account will not lead to attempts to convert you to the LDS church (or to getting loads of spam in your email).
The account is free and does not require you to provide any information that will compromise your private data. You can be confident that creating an account will not lead to attempts to convert you to the LDS church (or to getting loads of spam in your email).
To begin creating your (free) Family Search account, click to open a form like the one shown at the right.
Your user name does not need to be based on your real name. If you choose to provide information about an ancestor on the site (and you do not have to), it will be used to identify you as the source. Many people use nicknames, but it is a good idea to choose something that shows you as a serious researcher to other family historians. (Your old favourite name of "hot_guy_55" might not do that!) While you should always be careful with passwords, what you choose here is not as important as for a banking site. It can be something easy to remember (as you will probably be using it a lot). |