The National Archives

Advice for places of deposit

Under the Public Records Act, public records may be deposited in places other than The National Archives by agreement between the Lord Chancellor and the relevant authority. Some 235 such "places of deposit" are currently so appointed, and The National Archives has a statutory role to help monitor and raise standards of archival provision in those organisations.

Public records in places of deposit

Guidance on the management of specific types of public records has been produced by The National Archives and by other Government departments. more

Access to records

The National Archives provides guidance on the Data Protection Act and Freedom of Information. In particular, two pieces of guidance have been issued on Freedom of Information.

Guidance on assessing whether deposited private archive collections are covered by the Freedom of Information Act 2000:

Guidance on Freedom of Information, publication schemes and paid research services:

We have also published a manual of guidance on access to public records. This is currently being revised to take account of implementation of the Freedom of Information Act.

Guidance on assessing whether deposited private archive collections are covered by the Freedom of Information Act 2000:

Records management advice and guidance

It is a good idea to look at our records management advice and guidance section, as many of the standards published there are relevant to places of deposit. They cover topics such as disposal schedules, best practice guidance, and cataloguing guidelines.

Places of Deposit Bulletin

This regular magazine was sent to all Places of Deposit for Public Records. It included news and articles from the Public Record Office and later, The National Archives, of interest to archives holding public records. This magazine is no longer published, but back issues are available here:

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