Request a military service record

Use this service to make a request to The National Archives to search for a military service record for someone who served in the British Armed Forces after 1918 and who was born before 1940.

These records predominantly cover the period of the Second World War.

Ways to request a record

There are two ways to request a record.

Standard

For most applicants a Standard request will provide the information they are looking for.

Standard provides a subset of documents from the record. This may include details provided when they enlisted, records of service and testimonials.

Standard is not available for Commissioned Officer record requests.

Full record check

Documents not provided in Standard will, in most cases, contain sensitive information and will be closed to the public. However, we can complete a sensitivity check of the record to assess what can be released. In some cases, we will not be able to supply the record, or large parts of it will be redacted.

Fees

We charge a fee to recover costs of providing the service. The prices we charge (opens in new tab) are set out by the Fees Regulations under the Public Records Act (1958).

The fee will depend on the service you select. You can pay with a debit or credit card.

Service option	Fee
Standard	£42.25
Full record check	£48.87 plus £1.04 per page copying fee. For example, 20 pages will cost an additional £20.80.

Records are delivered as PDF colour scans digitally via email. We can post a printed copy of the record instead for an extra fee, but it will take longer to handle.