Every document is an act of accountability. Every record is a story. The archive exists to ensure that no story can be silenced, no action erased, no life forgotten.
We safeguard 11 million documents — from 12th-century royal charters to born-digital government files — applying world-leading conservation and digital preservation techniques to ensure their survival.
The archive is a public resource. Our reading rooms are free to use, our online catalogue is freely searchable, and 25 million records are available as free digital downloads.
We are the official repository for government records — an independent institution charged with ensuring that the actions of public authorities are permanently, transparently documented.
Founded by Act of Parliament in 1838, The National Archive was established to bring order to centuries of government records held in scattered repositories across the country. From the beginning, our mandate was clear: to preserve the evidence of government action and make it freely available to citizens.
Today, our holdings span 11 million items — from the Domesday Book of 1086 to yesterday's Cabinet minutes. Our reading rooms serve researchers from across the world, while 25 million digitised records are freely available online, consulted by 45,000 users daily.
Our HistoryWe assess every government record for permanent preservation — selecting those of lasting historical, legal, or evidential significance from the millions produced each year.
Selected records are formally transferred from government departments, catalogued, and made available to the public — typically within 20 years of creation under the Freedom of Information Act.
Paper documents are housed in acid-free storage at controlled temperature and humidity. Our conservation team repairs damaged items and creates preservation copies before they deteriorate beyond recovery.
Our digitisation programme creates high-resolution digital surrogates of priority collections — reducing handling of originals while making records freely accessible worldwide.
Records are made available in our reading rooms and online catalogue. Every document is free to consult. Digital downloads are free for personal research.
Established by Act of Parliament as the first national repository for government records, unifying centuries of scattered departmental archives under one roof.
Landmark legislation establishes the 30-year rule, guaranteeing public access to government records after three decades — a foundational right of democratic accountability.
DocumentsOnline makes 1 million records available free online for the first time — beginning our transformation into the world's leading digital archive.
Reach of 25 million freely downloadable digital records, consulted by 45,000 users daily from 180 countries — the most-accessed national archive in the world.
Our reading rooms are free to use. A Reader's Ticket is required — register online or in person at the Registration Desk. No prior appointment is needed for general research.