The process of transporting the records from the department to The National Archives is also known as ‘uplift’. It involves arranging with The National Archives the delivery of the records and planning their movement.
The National Archives accepts paper transfers on either a Monday, Wednesday or Friday, with a maximum load per delivery of either four pallets or 10 cages. All deliveries should either be secured in cages or palletised. All transfer documentation (including catalogue lists, transfer summaries and delivery forms) must be received with sufficient time for them to be signed off at least one week before an agreed uplift date. In practice, we would expect to receive the first submission of the transfer template a month in advance of a delivery date. To arrange a delivery or if you have any questions or concerns please contact governmenttransfers@nationalarchives.gov.uk.
If you transfer records to a place of deposit the same arrangements should apply. The public record creating body is responsible for transporting records to the place of deposit and should consult with staff at the place of deposit on planning delivery.
When you are ready to arrange delivery of records to The National Archives, you should consult your Transfer Adviser for advice on completing the relevant documentation.
Before the uplift stage, your Transfer Adviser must have ‘signed off’ on the physical preparation of your records and their cataloguing listings. You must complete and date your e-Transfer (AA2) form (one per series) and transfer delivery form (containing all series included in the current transfer), and email them to your Transfer Adviser who will ‘sign off’ on them and pass them to our Accessions team to arrange the uplift.
When this has been done, our Accessions team will contact you (or a designated contact who will be responsible for the uplift of the records, as stated in your delivery form) to agree on a delivery date. You must agree any subsequent changes to this date with our Accessions team.
When preparing the uplift for delivery, please send to the following address using a tracked courier service:
Accessions Team
The National Archives
Kew
Richmond
Surrey TW9 4DU
On arrival at The National Archives, the records will be checked against the transfer delivery form to confirm that they are consistent. If accurate, the uplift is then ‘signed off’ as completed and confirmation is sent to you or your designated contact.
More detailed guidance is also available on cataloguing and physical preparation and the delivery of digital records.
Guidance and forms for transferring paper records
Transfer template (XLSX, 0.03 MB)
Access Updates Form (DOC, 0.05 MB)
Delivery form for transfer of paper records (XLS, 0.02 MB)
Process for sending previously retained pieces or extracts to The National Archives (PDF, 0.26 MB)