Certification of Data
What Is Certified Data?
Most states require records that are submitted as evidence in a court of law to be authenticated in some way. To accommodate this requirement, NCEI offers Department of Commerce certification of the data maintained in our archives, which can be ordered online.
If the receiving party is a courthouse or subpoena record room, NCEI requires an immediate fax to 1-828-271-4876, including accompanying subpoena, address confirmation, and order number (order number is obtained upon submission of the order). Without that information, your certified data may be rejected by the recipient and returned to NCEI.
How Much Does Certified Data Cost?
The number of pages determines the cost of certified data, and each order has a $8.00 shipping charge. The table below provides a sample of costs by page range for online orders and reflects a discount of about 15% compared to an order for the same certifications offline. The certification of products ordered through the Climate Data Online system also includes an additional paper copy charge of $3.00 per order.
| Number of Pages | Cost | Shipping Charge | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 to 40 | $116.00 | $8.00 | $124.00 |
| 41 to 80 | $232.00 | $8.00 | $240.00 |
| 81 to 120 | $348.00 | $8.00 | $356.00 |
| 121 to 160 | $464.00 | $8.00 | $472.00 |
| 161 to 200 | $580.00 | $8.00 | $588.00 |
Certified paper copies delivered by UPS Next-Day service require an additional $10.00 charge per order. International shipping of certified paper copies requires an additional $43.00 charge per order.
How to Order Certified Data Online
NCEI allows online ordering for offline delivery of Department of Commerce certification of weather records for the following products: Local Climatological Data (LCD), Edited Local Climatological Data (LCD), Record of Climatological Observations (COOP), Global Historical Climatology Network Daily (GHCN-D) data, and other products from the Climate Data Online system that are provided in PDF format ONLY.
IMPORTANT: Please ensure the specific data you require is available by accessing the data links and viewing the data prior to ordering certified copies. Orders for certified copies cannot be canceled once they are processed.
- Select and view the data/products you want to have certified.
- Click the Order Certified Copies link to have the data/product added to your Online Shopping Cart.
- Follow the instructions for submitting an order through our Online Store to certify your data.
Step-by-step instructions are also available for ordering certified data through each of the systems available at NCEI.
How to Order Certified Radar Data
NCEI certifies color hard copies of Next Generation Radar (NEXRAD) Level II and Level III radar images for use in court. Each radar image can be centered on a specific point, city, or area of interest. NCEI radar images can be customized either to show the complete range of the radar or to show magnified views of specific regions. Several different background maps are also available to complement the radar images.
Due to the customization options available for certified radar data images, they must be ordered offline. To order certified color hard copies of NEXRAD Level II and Level III radar images, please contact NCEI’s customer support center at 1-828-271-4800 (option two) or ncei.orders@noaa.gov.
How Is Certified Data Delivered?
Certified paper copies are delivered by U.S. Mail or UPS Next-Day service. NCEI does not offer shipping via FedEx. Orders shipped outside the United States must be shipped via UPS Next-Day Service for tracking purposes.
Please allow 5–7 business days for internal processing of your certified data order. Additionally, please note that while orders requesting next-day service are given top priority, some internal processing time still applies. Your certified order will be sent according to the shipping method that you indicate.
