National Records of Scotland (NRS) is a Non-Ministerial Department of the Scottish Government.
Our purpose is to collect, preserve and produce information about Scotland's people and history and make it available to inform current and future generations.
We are headed by Alison Byrne, Chief Executive, who fulfils the roles of two non-ministerial office holders:
- the Registrar General for Scotland
- the Keeper of the Records of Scotland
You can read more about our boards.
Our work underpins the fabric of Scottish society: telling the story of our nation.
We perform:
- the registration and statistical functions of the Registrar General for Scotland
- the archival functions of the Keeper of the Records of Scotland, including maintaining the archives as one of Scotland’s five National Collections
Records we hold
We hold records:
- spanning the 12th to the 21st centuries
- touching on virtually every aspect of Scottish life
We're the repository for the public and legal records of Scotland. We also have many local and private archives. We hold and make available one of the most varied collections of records in Britain.
We provide a leadership role for archive and record professionals. We also require 250 named public authorities to submit records management plans.
Registration
We administer the registration of life events, such as:
- births
- deaths
- marriages and civil partnerships
- divorces
- adoptions
We are also responsible for the statutes relating to the formalities of marriage and civil partnership and the conduct of civil marriage.
Our audience
We have a global audience for our work, for example:
