This page sets out the range of digital file formats that The National Archives can currently sustain over the long term. We are able to accept these formats from public record bodies, preserve the information they contain and provide access to them.
The file formats have been categorised into tables; their name, extension and PRONOM unique identifier (PUID) have been provided. If you are using DROID to ascertain which file formats are contained within a set of records you are intending to transfer, the most accurate way to cross-reference your DROID output to this listing will be via the PUID column.
If you have selected digital records for transfer and they are in a format that does not appear on this page, please note that we are still able to accept the majority of formats although it may require further research. Please contact us to discuss this. This list will be updated periodically.
| Word processing and text formats | Version | File extension | PUID |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Word (Generic) | 6.0-2003 | .doc | fmt/609 |
| Microsoft Word Document | 6.0/95 | .doc | fmt/39 |
| Microsoft Word Document | 97-2003 | .doc | fmt/40 |
| Microsoft Word for MS-DOS Document | 3 | .doc | x-fmt/273 |
| Microsoft Word for MS-DOS Document | 4 | .doc | x-fmt/274 |
| Microsoft Word for MS-DOS Document | 5 | .doc | x-fmt/275 |
| Microsoft Word for MS-DOS Document | 5.5 | .doc | x-fmt/276 |
| Microsoft Word for Windows | 2007 onwards | .docx .wbk | fmt/412 |
| Microsoft Word for Windows Document | 1 | .doc | fmt/37 |
| Microsoft Word for Windows Document | 2 | .doc | fmt/38 |
| Open Document Text | 1 | .odt .ott | fmt/136 |
| Open Document Text | 1.1 | .odt .ott | fmt/290 |
| Open Document Text | 1.2 | .odt .ott | fmt/291 |
| Open Office Writer | 1 | .sxw | fmt/128 |
| Rich Text Format | 1.0 - 1.4 | .rtf | fmt/45 |
| Rich Text Format | 1.5 - 1.6 | .rtf | fmt/50 |
| Rich Text Format | 1.7 | .rtf | fmt/52 |
| Rich Text Format | 1.8 | .rtf | fmt/53 |
| Rich Text Format | 1.9 | .rtf | fmt/355 |
| Plain Text | .txt | x-fmt/111 | |
| Acrobat PDF 1.0 Portable Document Format | 1 | fmt/14 | |
| Acrobat PDF 1.1 Portable Document Format | 1.1 | fmt/15 | |
| Acrobat PDF 1.2 Portable Document Format | 1.2 | fmt/16 | |
| Acrobat PDF 1.3 Portable Document Format | 1.3 | fmt/17 | |
| Acrobat PDF 1.4 Portable Document Format | 1.4 | fmt/18 | |
| Acrobat PDF 1.5 Portable Document Format | 1.5 | fmt/19 | |
| Acrobat PDF 1.6 Portable Document Format | 1.6 | fmt/20 | |
| Acrobat PDF 1.7 Portable Document Format | 1.7 | fmt/276 | |
| Acrobat PDF/A Portable Document Format | 1a | fmt/95 | |
| Acrobat PDF/A Portable Document Format | 1b | fmt/354 | |
| Acrobat PDF/A Portable Document Format | 2a | fmt/476 | |
| Acrobat PDF/A Portable Document Format | 2b | fmt/477 | |
| Acrobat PDF/A Portable Document Format | 2u | fmt/478 | |
| Acrobat PDF/A Portable Document Format | 3a | fmt/479 | |
| Acrobat PDF/A Portable Document Format | 3b | fmt/480 | |
| Acrobat PDF/A Portable Document Format | 3u | fmt/481 | |
| Acrobat PDF/E - Portable Document Format for Engineering PDF/E-1 | 4 | fmt/493 | |
| Acrobat PDF/X - Portable Document Format for Exchange 1:1999 | 1 - 3 for DOS and 2 for Windows | fmt/144 | |
| Acrobat PDF/X - Portable Document Format for Exchange 1:2001 | 3 - 4 for Windows | fmt/145 | |
| Acrobat PDF/X - Portable Document Format for Exchange 1a:2001 | 5 - 6 | fmt/157 | |
| Acrobat PDF/X - Portable Document Format for Exchange 1a:2003 | 6 | fmt/146 | |
| Acrobat PDF/X - Portable Document Format for Exchange 2:2003 | x | fmt/147 | |
| Acrobat PDF/X - Portable Document Format for Exchange 3:2002 | 3 | fmt/158 | |
| Acrobat PDF/X - Portable Document Format for Exchange 3:2003 | 4 | fmt/148 | |
| Acrobat PDF/X - Portable Document Format for Exchange PDF/X-4 | 5 | fmt/488 | |
| Acrobat PDF/X - Portable Document Format for Exchange PDF/X-4p | 5.5 | fmt/489 | |
| Acrobat PDF/X - Portable Document Format for Exchange PDF/X-5g | 5 | fmt/490 | |
| Acrobat PDF/X - Portable Document Format for Exchange PDF/X-5n | 5.1/5.2 | fmt/492 | |
| Acrobat PDF/X - Portable Document Format for Exchange PDF/X-5pg | 3 | fmt/491 | |
| eXtensible Mark-up language | 1 | .xml | fmt/101 |
| Microsoft Word for Windows | 2007 onwards | .docx | fmt/412 |
| WordPerfect for MS-DOS/Windows Document | 3b | .doc .wpd .wp6 .wp .w60 | x-fmt/44 |
| WordPerfect for MS-DOS/Windows Document | 4 | .doc .wpd .wp6 .wp .w62 | x-fmt/394 |
| WordPerfect for MS-DOS/Windows Document | 3 | .doc .wpd .wp6 .wp .w61 | x-fmt/203 |
| XML Schema Definition | .xsd | x-fmt/280 | |
| Microsoft Word Template | 97-2003 | .dot | x-fmt/45 |
| Spreadsheet Formats | Version | File extension | PUID |
|---|---|---|---|
| Comma Separated Values | .csv | x-fmt/18 | |
| OpenDocument Spreadsheet | 1 | .ods .ots | fmt/137 |
| OpenDocument Spreadsheet | 1.1 | .ods .ots | fmt/294 |
| OpenDocument Spreadsheet | 1.2 | .ods .ots | fmt/295 |
| OpenOffice Calc | 1 | .sxc | fmt/129 |
| Lotus 1-2-3 Worksheet | 1 | .wks | x-fmt/117 |
| Microsoft Excel 2.x Worksheet (xls) | 2 | .xls | fmt/55 |
| Microsoft Excel 2000-2003 Workbook (xls) | 8x | .xls .xlw | fmt/62 |
| Microsoft Excel 3.0 Worksheet (xls) | 3 | xls | fmt/56 |
| Microsoft Excel 4.0 Worksheet (xls) | 4s | xls | fmt/57 |
| Microsoft Excel 5.0/95 Worksheet (xls) | 5/95 | .xls .xlw | fmt/59 |
| Microsoft Excel 95 Workbook (xls) | 7 | xls | fmt/60 |
| Microsoft Excel 97 Workbook (xls) | 8 | .xls,.xlw | fmt/61 |
| Microsoft Excel Binary Workbook | 2007 onwards | .xlsb | fmt/595 |
| Microsoft Excel for Windows | 2007 onwards | .xlsx | fmt/214 |
| Microsoft Works Spreadsheet | 1 - 5 | .wks | fmt/166 |
| Microsoft Works Spreadsheet | 2 | .wks | x-fmt/118 |
| Microsoft Works Spreadsheet | 1.1 | .wks | fmt/167 |
| Microsoft Works Spreadsheet | 1.2 | .wks | fmt/168 |
| Microsoft Works Spreadsheet | Generic | .wks | fmt/262 |
| Microsoft Works Spreadsheet | CS | .wks | fmt/263 |
| Microsoft Works Spreadsheet | CS2 | .wks | fmt/264 |
| Microsoft Works Spreadsheet | CS3 | .wks | fmt/270 |
| Microsoft Works Spreadsheet | CS4 | .wks | fmt/271 |
| Microsoft Works Spreadsheet | 2 | .wks | fmt/220 |
| Microsoft Works Spreadsheet | 2.0a | .wks | fmt/227 |
| Microsoft Works Spreadsheet | 2000 | .wks | fmt/257 |
| Microsoft Works Spreadsheet | 3 | .wks | fmt/228 |
| Microsoft Works Spreadsheet | 3.0a | .wks | fmt/229 |
| Presentation formats | Version | File extension | PUID |
|---|---|---|---|
| OpenDocument Presentation | 1 | .odp .otp | fmt/138 |
| OpenDocument Presentation | 1.1 | .odp .otp | fmt/292 |
| OpenDocument Presentation | 1.2 | .odp .otp | fmt/293 |
| OpenOffice Impress | 1 | .sxi | fmt/130 |
| Microsoft PowerPoint | 2007 onwards | .pptx .ppt | fmt/215 |
| Microsoft Powerpoint Presentation | 4 | .ppt | x-fmt/88 |
| Microsoft Powerpoint Presentation | 95 | .ppt | fmt/125 |
| Microsoft Powerpoint Presentation | 97-2003 | .ppt | fmt/126 |
| Harvard Graphics Presentation | 1.3 | .shw | x-fmt/324 |
| Graphic formats | Version | File extension | PUID |
|---|---|---|---|
| JPEG 2000 | 1 | .jp2 | x-fmt/392 |
| JPEG File Interchange Format | 1 | .jpeg .jpe .jpg | fmt/42 |
| JPEG File Interchange Format | 1.01 | .jpeg .jpe .jpg | fmt/43 |
| JPEG File Interchange Format | 1.02 | .jpeg .jpe .jpg | fmt/44 |
| Tagged image file format | .tif .tiff | fmt/353 | |
| OpenOffice Draw | 1 | .sxd | fmt/127 |
| OpenDocument Graphics | 1 | .odg .otg | fmt/139 |
| OpenDocument Graphics | 1.1 | .odg .otg | fmt/296 |
| OpenDocument Graphics | 1.2 | .odg .otg | fmt/297 |
| Portable Network Graphics | 1 | .png | fmt/11 |
| Portable Network Graphics | 1.1 | .png | fmt/12 |
| Portable Network Graphics | 1.2 | .png | fmt/13 |
| Graphics Interchange Format | 87a | .gif | fmt/3 |
| Graphics Interchange Format | 89a | .gif | fmt/4 |
| Windows Bitmap | 1 | .ddb .bmp | fmt/14 |
| Windows Bitmap | 2 | .bmp .dib | fmt/15 |
| Windows Bitmap | 3 | .dib .bmp | fmt/16 |
| Windows Bitmap | 3 NT | .dib .bmp | fmt/17 |
| Windows Bitmap | 4 | .bmp .dib | fmt/18 |
| Windows Bitmap | 5 | .bmp .dib | fmt/19 |
| Corel Draw | 1 | .cdr | fmt/467 |
| Corel Draw | 10 | .cdr | x-fmt/375 |
| Corel Draw | 11 | .cdr | x-fmt/378 |
| Corel Draw | 12 | .cdr | fmt/427 |
| Corel Draw | 2 | .cdr | fmt/466 |
| Corel Draw | 3 | .cdr | x-fmt/379 |
| Corel Draw | 4 | .cdr | fmt/465 |
| Corel Draw | 5 | .cdr | fmt/464 |
| Corel Draw | 6 | .cdr | x-fmt/29 |
| Corel Draw | 7 | .cdr | x-fmt/291 |
| Corel Draw | 8 | .cdr | x-fmt/292 |
| Corel Draw | 9 | .cdr | x-fmt/374 |
| Corel Draw | X3 | .cdr | fmt/428 |
| Corel Draw | X4 | .cdr | fmt/429 |
| Corel Draw | X5 | .cdr | fmt/430 |
| Adobe Digital Negative | 1 | .dng | fmt/436 |
| Adobe Digital Negative | 1.1 | .dng .tif .tiff | fmt/152 |
| Adobe Digital Negative | 1.2 | .dng | fmt/437 |
| Adobe Digital Negative | 1.3 | .dng | fmt/438 |
| Microsoft Visio Drawing | 2000 | .vsd | x-fmt/258 |
| Microsoft Visio Drawing | 2002 | .vsd | x-fmt/259 |
| Microsoft Visio Drawing | 2003 | .vsd | fmt/443 |
| Microsoft Visio Drawing | 5 | .vsd | x-fmt/113 |
| Audio formats | Version | File extension | PUID |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waveform Audio Format | .wav | fmt/6 | |
| Waveform Audio Format (PCMWAVEFORMAT) | .wav .wave | fmt/141 | |
| Waveform Audio Format (WAVEFORMATEX) | .wav .wave | fmt/142 | |
| Waveform Audio Format (WAVEFORMATEXTENSIBLE) | .wav .wave | fmt/143 | |
| Broadcast Wave Format | 0 | .wav | fmt/1 |
| Broadcast Wave Format | 1 | .wav | fmt/2 |
| Broadcast Wave Format | 2 | .wav | fmt/527 |
| Ogg Vorbis | .ogg .oga | fmt/203 | |
| Windows Media Audio | .wma .asf | fmt/132 | |
| MIDI Audio | .mid | x-fmt/230 | |
| MPEG 1/2 Audio Layer 3 | .mp3 | fmt/134 | |
| MPEG-4 | .mp4 .m4v . M4a .f4v .f4a | fmt/199 |
| Video formats | version | File extension | PUID |
|---|---|---|---|
| Material Exchange Format | .mxf | fmt/200 | |
| WebM | .webm | fmt/573 | |
| Adobe Flash | 8 | .swf | fmt/505 |
| Adobe Flash | 9 | .swf | fmt/506 |
| Adobe Flash | 10 | .swf | fmt/507 |
| MPEG-1 Program Stream | .mpg .mpeg | x-fmt/385 | |
| MPEG-2 Program Stream | .mpg .mpeg | x-fmt/386 | |
| MPEG-1 Elementary Stream | .mpg .mpeg | fmt/649 | |
| MPEG-2 Elementary Stream | .mpg .mpeg .m1v | fmt/640 | |
| Motion JPEG 2000 | .mj2 .mjp2 .m2v | fmt/337 | |
| Ogg Vorbis Codec Compressed Multimedia File | .ogg | fmt/203 | |
| Windows Media Video | .wmv .asf | fmt/133 | |
| Windows Media Video 9 Advanced Profile (WVC1) | 9 Advanced Profile (WVC1) | .wmv | fmt/441 |
| Macromedia Flash | 1 | .swf | fmt/104 |
| Macromedia Flash | 2 | .swf | fmt/105 |
| Macromedia Flash | 3 | .swf | fmt/106 |
| Macromedia Flash | 4 | .swf | fmt/107 |
| Macromedia Flash | 5 | .swf | fmt/108 |
| Macromedia Flash | 6 | .swf | fmt/109 |
| Macromedia Flash | 7 | .swf | fmt/110 |
| Quicktime | .mov .qtm | x-fmt/384 | |
| MPEG-4 | .mp4 .m4v . M4a .f4v .f4a | fmt/199 |
| Email formats | version | File extension | PUID |
|---|---|---|---|
| Internet Message Format | .eml | fmt/278 | |
| Microsoft Outlook Personal Folders | .pst | x-fmt/250 | |
| Microsoft Outlook Personal Folders | .pst | x-fmt/251 | |
| Microsoft Outlook Personal Folders | 1997-2002 | .pst | x-fmt/248 |
| Microsoft Outlook Personal Folders | 2003-2007 | .pst | x-fmt/249 |
| Microsoft Outlook Personal Folders | 97-2003 | .msg | x-fmt/430 |
| Other Formats | Version | File extension | PUID |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Project | 2000 | .mpp | x-fmt/246 |
| Microsoft Project | 2000-2003 | .mpp | x-fmt/247 |
| Microsoft Project | 2007 | .mpp | fmt/440 |
| Microsoft Project | 4 | .mpp | x-fmt/243 |
| Microsoft Project | 95 | .mpp | x-fmt/244 |
| Microsoft Project | 98 | .mpp | x-fmt/245 |