Loans for exhibitions

The best way to contact the Loans Team is to use the following email address: exhibitionloans@nationalarchives.gov.uk.

Section 2(4)(g) of the Public Records Act 1958 empowers The National Archives to lend documents ‘for display at commemorative exhibitions and for other special purposes’. Applicants for loans must meet all conditions, including those on timescales, costs, travel and display, as laid out in our conditions for loans. If you would like to borrow documents from The National Archives, there are some points you should consider:

• We require six months’ advance notice for any loan
• Loans are made to one venue only
• The period of loan is usually three to six months
• We do not usually lend more than ten documents to any one exhibition
• The borrower is responsible for all costs, including insurance, conservation treatment if required, conservator time, and all costs associated with the installation and collection of borrowed items, including courier time and preparation. See Fees regulations
• Loans will be considered for public display purposes only
• The National Archives must be clearly acknowledged in both the display and any accompanying catalogues to the exhibition

Update – international loans

The National Archives continues to consider new requests for international loans. We invite the borrower to think carefully about the relevance of our documents to their exhibition, and we recommend starting initial conversations early, which will allow us to consider any necessary alternative solutions on travel, installation or potential longer term storage. As always, our approval of any loan will be dependent on the facilities at the borrowing venue, the condition of the documents, their fitness for travel and display and their assured safety throughout transportation and the loan period. Any agreement to lend will be contingent on restrictions relating to public health, armed conflicts or heightened security alerts and other restrictions that may arise in line with the UK government’s position at the planned time of transport or display.

The National Archives reserves the right to withdraw from the loan at any time, if it becomes apparent that our personnel and documents would be at risk, or if it is no longer possible for them to travel.