Restrictions for Viewing Images in FamilySearch Historical Record Collections

Many records on FamilySearch cannot be viewed for free anywhere in the world. Some owners of records ("record custodians") impose restrictions on which users can access their records.

These restrictions are typically based on:


 * Whether the user is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
 * Whether the user is at a Family History Center or Affiliate Library

In some cases the record custodian will not give permission for the images to be online at all, and the records can only be viewed on microfilm at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Other records simply haven't been converted from microfilm to digital film yet.

In the FamilySearch catalog, any record you can view at your current location and with your currently logged in account has a camera symbol. If the record is restricted but online the symbol is a camera and key.If the record is not online, a film roll representing microfilm is used.

When accessing record you do not have permission to view, a message like the (outdated) image below will appear:



Since January 2019, many users have been seeing the message 'This image is unavailable for online viewing at this time". This indicates that the image is restricted, but a software bug has prevented the correct restriction message from being displayed. To see who can view the images, either refresh repeatedly until the message appears, or try again later.

Watch a YouTube video explanation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjLxSac06jw