In those instances, the records are in the neighboring town rather than the town of residence. The records must then be determined to have been microfilmed. Some areas of Germany, France, Italy and Croatia have not yet been microfilmed. If your applicable locality has not been microfilmed, your order will be promptly refunded in full. They are not necessarily kept in the core collection.
Research then takes place in the records.
Indexes are generally non-existent, and the names can often be in formats and languages not immediately recognized except through frequently use of the records. For example, noting that the American surname of Carpenter can be found in German records as Zimmerman, or that High can be found as Hoch, can determine the success of the search. Given names also present obstacles. Guiseppe as Joseph in Italy, and Istvan as Stephen in Hungary are just two examples the knowledge needed by researchers. When the record has been found, a copy is made for your reference and mailed to you with a statement of authentication that documents the source and citation.