Viewing public records is free. Requesting copies of public records comes with a small charge.
You can view and download digitised records without an account. If you wish to view the original physical record:

• search for popular records directly on the home page, using advanced search (top of screen) or directly on each Topic Page. You can search by government agency, by record type (e.g. rate books), series title, or simply search using keywords 
• once you have identified the record or records you wish to order an order button will appear and you will be prompted to login or create an account
• once you have ordered the records they are available in our Reading Rooms the next day
• you can photograph them in the Reading Room and save the image to a USB stick (you must bring the USB yourself)