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A record archive at Kew

Order documents in advance of your visit

These services are available to readers with a current reader’s ticket.

If you already hold a current reader’s ticket, you can order documents online or by telephone before your visit to The National Archives.

If you do not have a reader's ticket, please obtain one when you visit and order your documents on the day. You will need to bring two forms of identification.

 

Online orders

If you hold a current reader’s ticket, you can order up to six documents in advance of your visit to The National Archives using the online order form.

Orders need to be placed before 17:00 on the working day before your visit if documents are stored at Kew, and before 11:00 three normal working days before your visit if they are stored off-site (see below).

We cannot guarantee that everything you order will be available.

 

Telephone orders

Alternatively, you can call us on + 44 (0) 20 8392 5200 and order documents over the telephone. Again, you will need a valid reader's ticket. Please have the following information ready:

• Reader's name
• Reader's ticket number (mandatory)
• The proposed date of your visit
• A maximum of six preferred document references
• Your daytime telephone number

 

Bulk Orders

If you intend to order a large number of documents from the same department and series (for example, all documents from FO 371) and you hold a current reader's ticket, you can pre-order using the bulk order form.

Please allow at least two working days’ notice for a bulk order. You will not be able to keep a bulk order for more than two days and can only make one such order at a time.

Please note - we cannot guarantee that everything you order will be available. There is no bulk order service for Saturdays.

 

Documents stored off-site

Some documents are kept at a separate storage facility in Cheshire www.deepstore.com.

You can check which documents are stored off-site in the Catalogue.

If the documents you are ordering are stored in Cheshire, please let us know.  Requests for off-site documents are made available within three working days, if ordered before 11:00.

As with documents stored at The National Archives, those stored off-site can be ordered by readers holding a current reader's ticket online or by telephone.

 

Handling documents

The material we hold is precious and some documents are very fragile.  Please help us ensure their continued survival by following the basic principles when handling original documents.