As a government department, we are obliged to charge for some of our public services, including research and record copying.
The prices we charge for some of our services are set out by the Fees Regulations under the Public Records Act (1958) and are based on recovering the costs of providing these services.
Our fees are changing on 2 February 2026.
Charging for digitised copies of paper records
Digitising paper records is costly, and normally involves additional cataloguing and transcription work to ensure that the records are searchable. When we decide to digitise a collection of records, we either work with commercial and academic publishing partners or we do the work ourselves and make digital copies available to download from our website through Discovery.
Free access to digital records
To find records that are available to download for free, filter your search results in Discovery to include records that are ‘available for download only’.
To download for free, users will be required to:
- Register/sign in to their Discovery account before adding items to their basket (maximum 10 items per basket)
- Abide by the terms of our fair use policy
- Complete the order process to receive a download link, which will remain active for 30 days. (The link will also be saved in ‘Current orders’ in your account for 30 days)
Our usual terms of use still apply – digital copies can be downloaded for non-commercial private use and educational purposes only, and bulk downloads and web crawlers are not permitted.
Some digitised records are also available to view through websites such as Findmypast or Ancestry: this will be specified in the catalogue description in Discovery. These are usually free to search but there may be a subscription charge to view.
Viewing and ordering
Why are some records only available through commercial companies?
We have over 167 kilometres of shelving of records. Digitising records and making them available online is an enormous task. We therefore work with partners to make more records accessible by participating in the commercial digitisation of genealogical and other records. Find out more about licensing.
Can I order copies of records?
The record copying service provides copies of all material held by The National Archives. With state of the art digital scanning equipment, we can produce paper copies of records, as well as in a range of electronic formats.
Our fees are changing on 2 February 2026
From 2 February 2026 there will be updated fees payable for utilising some services offered by The National Archives. The fees are set out in the Statutory Instrument (referred to as the Fees Order). The list below summarises the charges that are within the Fees Order and includes an explanation of each service that is covered by the respective fee.
In both the Fees Order and Fees Guide the fees in brackets represent the charges from the previous edition of the Fees Order, which was published in 2019. The charges from the 2019 Fees Order are not inclusive of inflation.
For more information on the changes, read our fees change: frequently asked questions.
Search – £38.95 per 15 mins
(2019: £24.35)
The Search fee is the cost associated with The National Archives confirming whether a record or requested information is held, identifying where the record/information is located and retrieving that record/information. As the cost of the Search fee is associated with the time taken to search, locate, retrieve and extract the requested information, it is non-refundable in the event that the record is not held by The National Archives (see refund policy below for more details). Please note the Search fee does not include the cost of copying the documents within the record.
Naturalisation Certificate – £68.84
(2019: £27.15)
The Naturalisation Certificate service is the cost of creating a physically printed colour paper copy of a registration certificate (issued between 1 January 1949 and 30 September 1986) or a naturalisation certificate (issued between 1 September 1870 to 31 May 1969 and 1 January 1983 to 30 September 1986) and its certification process. This cost includes all pages in a naturalisation or registration certificate (usually one or two) but does not include postage fees.
Page Check – £9.92
(2019: £8.40)
The Page Check fee is the cost of checking the suitability of the record for copying, counting the number of pages within the record and providing a costed quotation for the copying of the documents. This process ensures that the requester is provided with an accurate quotation, allowing the requester to make an informed choice as to whether to proceed with the Copying Service (see below). Please note the Page Check fee does not include the cost of copying the documents within the record.
Copying Service
In addition to the Search and/or Page Check fees, a Copying Service cost will be levied that is associated with creating a copy of the specific record. There are two separate Copying Service fees, one for General Records and one specifically for Ministry of Defence Service Personnel Records.
General Record Copying Service
Colour Paper Copy:
- Up to and including A3 (cost per copy) – £7.40 (2019: £4.95)
- Greater than A3 (cost per copy) – £17.71 (2019: £9.60)
Digital Copy :
- Up to and including A3 (cost per copy) – £1.52 (2019: £1.20)
- Greater than A3 (cost per copy) – £11.95 (2019: £8.45)
The General Record Copying Service is the cost of creating a copy of a specific record and is based on the type of documents within the record and the size of the copy that is required. Colour page copies are physically printed and therefore have a higher cost than digital copies. Similarly, copies of documents larger than A3 have a higher cost than copies sized A3 or below due to the technical requirements of copying these documents.
Ministry of Defence (MoD) Service Personnel Records Specific Copying Service
Colour Paper Copy:
- Up to and including A3 (cost per copy) – £1.89 (N/A)
Digital Copy:
- Up to and including A3 (cost per copy) – £1.04 (N/A)
The MoD Service Personnel Records Specific Copying Service applies to service records of MoD service personnel born before 1939, which were transferred to The National Archives from February 2021. The service follows a similar costing model as the General Record Copying Service, with exact cost based on the type of document required (see above). However, as the MoD service personnel records are similar in size and content, it is more streamlined for these records to be copied. As a result, the copying fees for these records are at a lower cost than the General Record Copying Service, where the records can be more variable in type, size, and content.
For the purpose of the Fees Order, a MoD Service Personnel Record is defined as documents created upon initial recruitment or transfer between units; including details of a service man’s/woman’s postings whilst in service; and/or documents tracing movements, conduct, and promotions in military service.
Combined (Standard) Service – MoD Service Personnel Records
- Search and Colour Copies up to and including A3 – £47.16 (N/A)
- Search and Digital Copies up to and including A3 – £42.25 (N/A)
The Combined (Standard) Service for MoD Service Personnel Records is a combination of the Search and Copying Service fees, which results in a lower overall fee and a single fees notice for payment. This fee relates to the new service designed to provide access to the specific records that are generally of most interest to the families of service personnel, such as details provided at the point of enlistment, records of service, and testimonials. Information that can be found in these subsets of records would often include when an individual signed up for a service, a summary of their movements and which units they served in, promotions where applicable, and when the individual left the service. As the Combined (Standard) Service is for a pre-defined subset of documents, the processing of the request is streamlined which results in efficiencies that create a lower total cost to the requester.
As of February 2026, the Combined (Standard) Service will be available for British Army Non-Officer and Royal Air Force records. For British Army Non-Officer records, the Combined Service will include the Attestation and Statement of Service Forms, Tracer Cards, and Release Forms, normally consisting of 8 to 10 pages. For Royal Air Force records, the Combined Service will include the summary of service form (for example, F543, 543A or 543R), normally consisting of 2 to 5 pages. Once the records of other service branches (e.g. the Royal Navy) or records of British Army Officers have been transferred to The National Archives, an equivalent Combined Service may be offered for these records.
Post and Packing
The National Archives will securely package and despatch copies by post if this option is chosen. Postage and packing is an additional charge which covers the cost of the packing materials and postage.
Postage is calculated according to weight, size, and destination, with the postal calculator automatically choosing the cheapest rate. A charge is also added to cover the cost of the packing materials, typically A3 envelope(s) and filler or cardboard tube(s).
Refund Policy
As stated above, because the Search fee is associated with the time taken to search for and identify a specific record, it is non-refundable in the event that the record is not held by The National Archives. For the MoD Service Personnel Records, refunds will not be issued where the information/record delivered aligns with the information given to The National Archives in the original request. It is therefore vital that requestors provide as much accurate information as possible when making the request so that the correct individual can be identified. The only circumstances where the Search fee is refundable are as follows:
- The Search fee was mistakenly charged more than once.
- Incorrect information was provided by The National Archives prior to the Search fee being paid.
In circumstances where the Page Check fee is paid together with the Search fee, or the Combined (Standard) Service (Search and Copying) fee is paid upfront, a portion of the fee will be refunded if the record is not held by The National Archives.
The Page Check is non-refundable if the record is held by The National Archives but the requestor elects not to proceed with the Copying Service. The only circumstances where the Page Check fee is refundable are as follows:
- The Page Check fee was mistakenly charged more than once.
- Incorrect information was provided by The National Archives prior to the Page Check fee being paid.
- The Page Check fee was paid upfront prior to the Search being completed and the record is not held by The National Archives.
The Copying Service fee is non-refundable in most cases. The only circumstances where the Copying Service fee is refundable are as follows:
- The Copying Service fee was mistakenly charged more than once.
- Incorrect information was provided by The National Archives prior to the Copying Service fee being paid.
- The Copying Service fee was paid upfront as part of the Combined Service and the record is not held by The National Archives.
Fees change: Frequently asked questions
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Why are you increasing your fees?
We last increased our fees in 2019 with costings from 2018. Since then, inflation has increased and our costs, like those of every other organisation, have also increased. It is now necessary for us to better reflect the true cost of delivering our services.
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I thought it was free to look at documents at The National Archives?
It is free to look at documents on site at Kew. This fee is for additional services that we offer e.g. record copying, authentication of copies of documents including naturalisation certificates and bespoke research services.
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Why have you reviewed the fees after 7 years?
Prior to 2019, we reviewed our fees every 1-2 years. We have taken this opportunity to review all the services which we charge for, ensure we are delivering them as efficiently as possible, and have worked with colleagues across government (HMT and DCMS) to ensure that all our fees are proportionate and cover only our costs guided by the principles of Managing Public Money. The longer time between reviews also gave us the opportunity to understand the impact that the Ministry of Defence (MOD) Service Personnel records, which began to transfer to The National Archives in 2021, had on our ability to provide a quality service to our users.
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How can you justify this increase?
We are reflecting the true cost of delivering our services today. We have tried to keep our fees as low as possible for as long as possible, but we have come to the point where to continue to deliver a quality service, we need to increase fees.
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Can I get a discount?
Discounts are not available. The fee covers only the cost to The National Archives for work done so in this respect, we cannot give a discount. With the fees, The National Archives is only covering its costs, it does not make any profit from the fees it charges.
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Do you give refunds if the information is not what I expect?
No, refunds are not given. The fee covers only the cost to The National Archives for work done so in this respect, we cannot give a refund. With the fees, The National Archives is only covering its costs, it does not make any profit from the fees it charges. We will offer a partial refund for the MOD service if the record is not found. More information can be found above.
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Is postage and packing (for paper copies) included in the costs in the fees order?
No, postage and packing is extra. It is charged at actual cost.
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Why has the cost of authentication of naturalisation certificates increased so much?
The certification process for naturalisation certificates is more complex than the general record copying service. It involves 17 distinct steps and requires input from staff across multiple departments.
This multi-stage process ensures the integrity and authenticity of certified naturalisation certificates, which are often required for legal and official purposes. -
Does the increase in fee for a naturalisation certificate discriminate against those people requiring a naturalisation certificate?
The amount of work required to provide a naturalisation certificate is greater than the general record copying process and this is reflected in the fee. This is the fee a person pays whatever their background or home country.
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I’m on a low / fixed income, I can’t afford record-copying.
Our fees cover only our costs; we do not make a profit. If you can travel to our site at Kew, you can make digital copies of records using your personal device. If you cannot get to Kew, you can access our website via local services such as a library where you can make copies of any digitised records on our catalogue. If the record you want to copy has not been digitised and you are unable to travel to Kew, you will have to pay for the record to be copied.
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Is it legal for you to charge for some services?
Yes. The Public Records Act s.2(5) allows the Keeper to charge a fee “for the inspection of records[…],for authenticated copies or extracts from such records and for other services afforded by officers of the Public Record Office”. Fees that the Keeper currently chooses to charge are set out in The Public Record Office (Fees) Regulations 2018 (‘PRO Fees Order’).
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Are your fees listed anywhere?
Yes, they are listed on this webpage above.
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Why are you no longer offering black & white (monochrome) paper copies?
Monochrome printing now costs the same as the colour printing due to increase in ink costs.