Government records are considered in the court of law as the ultimate proof for all permanent civic and financial rights. State Archives, being the custodian of Electoral Rolls and Calcutta (Kolkata) Gazettes, issues certificates on the basis of these to applicants involved in various kinds of legal or financial disputes at a very nominal rate.

National Register of Citizens

The formation of National Register of Citizens has rendered the Certificate Section a hub of feverish activity with people from Assam coming in thousands to the office for procuring proof of ancestral residence in Bengal. The certificate issued on the basis of Electoral Rolls by the State Archives, the only certificate-issuing centre in the Eastern Region, has been declared by the Supreme Court of India as a valid document on the basis of which the name of a person can be entered in the National Register of Citizens. Recently documents relating to old voters' lists are being sought by thousands in West Bengal. District Magistrates are also seeking such lists relating to the areas under their jurisdiction. Thus currently one of the major activities of the archives is to provide such materials (soft copy) to the District Magistrates. Simultaneously the already digitized lists are being uploaded to the server of the State Data Centre that can be accessed through the official website of the Directorate of State Archives.