The National Archives is a non-ministerial department, and the official archive and publisher for the UK Government, and for England and Wales. We work to bring together and secure the the public record, both digital and physical, for future generations and are guardians of over 1,000 years of iconic national documents. We are expert advisers in information and records management, and a cultural, academic and heritage institution.
We fulfil a leadership role for the archives sector and work to secure the future of physical and digital records. Our collection is accessible to everyone all over the world.
Our main statutory duties are as set out in the Public Records Act 1958 and associated legislation and we fulfil the remit of the Public Record Office, the Historical Manuscripts Commission, His Majesty’s Stationery Office, King’s Printer of Acts of Parliament, Government Printer for Northern Ireland, and King’s Printer for Scotland.
The National Archives is an essential resource for our democracy, a public good and an asset for future generations. Our historic mission endures: to collect and preserve the record, to use our expertise and knowledge to connect people with their history through our unrivalled collections, and to lead, partner and support archives at home and worldwide.
The National Archives Strategy 2025-2030
The National Archives’ mission is to collect and preserve the public record, to connect citizens with their history through unrivalled collections and to partner with archives everywhere. In 2038 we will celebrate the bicentenary of the founding of the Public Record Office, and our 2038 vision is for The National Archives to be the living digital archive of the state. Our strategy charts the path to making that vision a reality, setting out clear choices and priorities. These are to:
- Lead the future of archives – we will address the challenges of records management capability in government and resilience in the wider archives sector, and use our expertise at an international level to help solve common problems.
- Increase our profile – we will increase our profile, to deliver reach and impact through a more targeted, integrated creative public programme planned on a longer timescale.
- Widen availability and reshape place – we will expand the digital availability of the physical record, while evolving the places from which the collection is encountered and made useful.
- Renew our technology – to enable all these priorities we will upgrade our technology estate so that the quality of our best and most modern systems is matched by renewed infrastructure that fully supports the living digital archive and users’ interactions with it
We have set out an ambitious programme of change. To deliver it we will develop costed plans, a new operating model for The National Archives and an institution shaped to meet the challenges and opportunities to come. The skills and expertise of The National Archives’ staff are critical to all that we do, and we will continue to invest in equipping our people to create this future.
The living digital archive of the state will be a unique and invaluable asset, enriching citizens’ daily lives, generating value for the nation and securing the record for the future. Its promise is rich, its moment is at hand, and we are determined to make it a reality.