Order copy

Before you start

Please note that the record copying service is not a research service. We allow 15 minutes per page check to identify and cost the information required. Before placing a page check, you need to have a reasonable expectation that

  • the selected document will contain the information you require
  • the relevant information will be easily identifiable

If your enquiry is speculative, your page check is unlikely to be successful. If you do not have the full information required, please consider contacting an independent researcher or our own research services to obtain the information you need.

The record copying process takes approximately 24 working days from start to finish. This is due to the high volume of requests that we receive each day.

There are two separate fees as part of the service:

  • 1. the cost of a page check (£9.92)
  • 2. the cost of making copies of a record, if it is possible to do so

Requesting a page check

Send us detailed information about what you would like copied, and we will carry out a page check to determine whether it is possible to make a copy. A page check involves a member of staff collecting the relevant record from our repositories, looking for the information you’ve specified and assessing the record’s suitability for copying. The page check costs £9.92 and is non-refundable. This covers the cost of the service and is agreed by the Treasury.

Ordering your copy

If the page check shows that we can make a copy we will email you with a full breakdown of the cost of copying the record. If not, we will email you to explain why we are not able to make a copy.

If you choose to go ahead with your order, you can decide whether you would like to receive a digital copy via email, or a hard copy by post.

Get started

Where am I in the process?

Request a page check

Tell us what information you would like copied, so that a member of staff can carry out a page check. This will cost £9.92.

Tell us what you want copied

Please tell us as much as you can about what you want copied. Where possible, please include page numbers, dates, and names.

The details you provide will help our staff look for the requested information within the record.

Other options

Record copying is not the only way to access information in our collection. You may want to try our paid search service, hire an independent paid researcher or visit The National Archives.

If you need a certified copy for legal reasons please provide instructions of which parts should be certified.

We check

A member of staff will manually check the pages of the record to determine whether we can make a copy. This costs £9.92 per request, whether it is successful or not, to cover the cost of the service.

We will email you within 10 working days to confirm whether we can make the copy that you have requested. If we can, we will also confirm the cost of copying. If we cannot, we will explain why we are unable to make a copy.

You choose

If we are able to make a copy, you can decide whether you would like to receive it by email or by post. You confirm your order and pay for your copy.

We copy

We copy the records that you have requested. You can track your order at any time through Your orders.

Delivery

We send your copy to you, by email or by post (depending on the option you have selected).

How record copying works