Some of your agency’s records may have been transferred to the Archives. At the time of their transfer, these records were no longer required for day-to-day business. However, you may find that some of these records still need to be accessed occasionally.

If you want to access a record in custody of the National Archives, you will need to contact us. The method of access will depend on the age and condition of the record.

• If the record is less than 30 years old and is not in a fragile condition, you will be able to organise retrieval of the record and access it on your agency's premises. For more information on how to do this, see Retrieving records from the National Archives.
• If the record is over 30 years old, it is available for access by the public and cannot be removed from the Archives. We will make these records available to you in one of our reading rooms.  There are several ways your agency can access its own records at the Archives. These are:
• • Official access
  • Special access
  • Public access

Alternatively, you may request a printed or online digital copy of the record. The costs for this service are outlined in Fact Sheet 51: copying and printing charges.

If your agency is required to provide access to its records because of a legal proceeding or discovery order, see Access to records for court discovery orders.

You may wish to look at each of these different means of access to find the most appropriate for your needs.

Electronic records

Electronic records requested by an agency can be retrieved via Lending Services in the same way as paper records. We will send you all the documents that make up the item on a transfer medium (like a CD or portable hard drive) or through other agreed methods. Normally, we will provide the open-format version of the documents, but we can supply the original version as well if required.