Record transfer report for local bodies

Locally-based public sector organisations such as magistrates’ courts, prisons, coroners’ courts or NHS bodies are required to transfer some of their records for historical preservation to ‘places of deposit’ – local archive services appointed by The National Archives under the Public Records Act 1958.

Data from these public sector organisations provides information on the volume of records they hold and have transferred to their local place of deposit since 2015.

This data has been collected by The National Archives since 2015 to monitor the transfer of public records to places of deposit during the transition period to the 20-year rule. Answers from future surveys will help to build upon the information surfaced by these reports to create a more comprehensive picture. Survey data will be collected and published on an annual basis to provide a snapshot of local public record transfer activity by year.

Access the report

The files show the data provided by some public record bodies that are required to transfer records to places of deposit. The report does not include responses from all organisations required to transfer their records, but should be seen as an indicative baseline that documents transfer activity locally.

The responses are listed alphabetically by the name of the organisation, and can be filtered by regional location and type of organisation. Record holdings listed in the report can include records of other organisations, such as predecessor bodies.

Record transfer report 2017 for local transfers (XLS, 0.28 MB)

Record transfer report 2016 for local transfers (XLS, 0.07 MB)

Record transfer report 2015 for local transfers (XLS, 0.04 MB)

What the figures mean

Public sector organisations required to transfer their records to places of deposit provide data on the volume of their records in the following categories:

  • legacy records dated up to and including 1984 now due for selection and transfer
  • records dated 1985-2004 due for transfer during the ’20-year rule transition’ phase
  • records that have not yet been reviewed for permanent preservation
  • records which have been transferred to a place of deposit

The volume of records is denoted in linear metres. Where ‘0’ is given as a value, either no records are held or the quantity is unknown.

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