I e-mailed NYC Vital Records this question before ordering some certificates that I’d got the numbers for from the indexes:
QUESTION:
I wish to order 3 certificates from the period 1893-1894 and I have the numbers. Cost for ordering these 3 certificates with certificate numbers would be $45.00. However a one borough search for this period would be $15.00 (for the first year searched - 1893) + $2.00 (for the extra year - 1894) so the cost would be $17.00. However this search should result in the issuing of the same 3 certificates as they would be covered by the Search Request service on offer.
Is this correct?
REPLY:
You are correct in that a two year search would be $17.00 and sometimes you might receive more than one certificate if they seem like possibilities based on the information you supplied. However, if the index indicates four or more possibilities, and you do not supply any further identifying information (place of birth; parents' names, burial place, etc.) that would would enable us to identify the correct certificate, we may return the request to you un-processed. We do not have an absolute rule on this, but you would probably not receive seven certificates for the price of two.
So there you have it - it can be cheaper to request a search rather than order specific certificates in certain cases - one borough and a couple of years search period.