Our fees

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, our online catalogue.

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 252 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.

Licensing

Find out more about licensing with The National Archives.

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 changed on 2 February 2026

On 2 February 2026 we 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.

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 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.