Making a Freedom of Information request

What information can I access?

Many of the records held by The National Archives are already open to the public. There is no need to make a Freedom of Information (FOI) request for these records. Instead, you can find these records using our online catalogue, Discovery.

However, you can submit a FOI request to access:

• Our closed records
• The National Archives’ own administrative records (the records of how we go about our business).

If we hold the information, we will provide it to you, subject to any exemptions which may apply.

Who can make a request for information?

Anyone anywhere in the world can make an FOI request.

You do not have to be a UK citizen or live in the UK.

How do I make a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act?

You can make an FOI request by email or post.

If you are submitting your request by post please include a description of the information you are looking for. Please remember to provide a contact name and address. Please note, that we will have a better chance of finding the information you seek if you include as much detail as possible.

You can also make an FOI request for a closed record on Discovery, our online catalogue, by selecting the ‘Submit FOI request’ button to the right of the closed record description.

Please note, we do not charge for deciding whether you can access closed records and information from The National Archives’ own administrative records.

Could my request be refused?

We can withhold information under the FOI Act if it falls within one of a number of listed categories, known as exemptions.

Some commonly given exemptions used by The National Archives include, but are not limited to, the below.

The request is repeated

This means the request:

• has been has made by the same person as a previous request;
• is identical or substantially similar to the previous request; and
• was received with no reasonable interval since the previous request.

The request would cost too much to complete

The Freedom of Information Act allows us to limit the amount of work we do for an individual request for information through a cost limit. This cost limit allows us to refuse a request if it would cost more than £450 to find and provide the requested information.

If your request goes over the cost limit, we will try to help you narrow it down.

The request could risk national security

This means releasing the requested information could make the UK or its citizens more vulnerable to a national security threat.

If we use this exemptions, we will explain the requester why we consider it reasonably necessary to withheld their requested information.

The request could be vexatious

This means that we are unlikely to find the information and the request would involve extensive work.

To assess if a request is vexatious The National Archives consider:

• Could the request fairly be seen as obsessive?
• Is the request harassing the organisation or causing distress to staff?
• Would complying with the request impose a significant burden in terms of expense and distraction?
• Is the request designed to cause disruption or annoyance?

More information and examples can be found on the Information Commissioner’s Office website.

What happens if I don’t agree with your decision not to release information?

Anyone disappointed with the response to their enquiry has the right to ask us for an internal review and a further right of appeal to the Information Commissioner.

How long will it take?

Under the Freedom of Information Act, we have a duty to reply to your request and to provide the information, unless it is subject to an exemption, within 20 working days.

For closed records, we sometimes have to consult other government departments and the FOI Act allows us an extra 10 working days to do so. Find out more about this extension.

If we decide that an exemption may apply, the process might take slightly longer. We will write to tell you if this is the case.