20-year rule and records of local interest

The Public Records Act requires certain public bodies to transfer records of historical value for permanent preservation to local archive services appointed as ‘places of deposit’. The point of transfer was by the time the records reached 30 years old. Changes in legislation mean that since 1 January 2015 specified local public sector organisations (magistrates’ courts, prisons, coroners’ courts, NHS bodies and some arms-length bodies including the Environment Agency) must now transfer records selected for permanent preservation to a place of deposit at 20 years after their creation, rather than the previous 30 years.

Help and guidance for transferring organisations is available here.

The Programme

The Public Records Act requires certain public bodies to transfer records of historical value for permanent preservation to local archive services appointed as ‘places of deposit’.

Guidance for places of deposit

Places of deposit should expect to accession increased volumes of public records from the public sector organisations listed in Schedule 1 during the transition period.