Frequently Asked Questions

FAQ: Arcre Document Copy Service

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What is the Arcre Document Copy Service?

The Arcre Document Copy Service is principally aimed at photographing British Government documents and records held in the National Archives. The National Archives is the repository of over 11 million documents dating from 1086 onwards. It is a treasure trove of material recording British and global political, economic, social and military history. Much of this material remains untapped and is of interest to students, historians, researchers, the legal profession, genealogists, etc.

Arcre will visit the National Archives on your behalf, will order up the requested documents and photograph the complete file or other easily identifiably sections of it. The service is intended to be an economical way of obtaining copies of unique primary source material for those unable to make a trip to the Archives in person.

Arcre will soon be partnering with other professional researchers to offer a similar service for important national archives around the world.

 

What type of copies does Arcre provide?

Arcre uses a high resolution digital camera to photograph the original documents. The images will be supplied in JPEG format and contained within a ZIP archive for each document requested. For convenience, each individual image will be named and sequentially numbered with the National Archives catalogue reference.

Click here for an example photograph.

We are subject to certain restrictions when photographing documents at the National Archives. Documents cannot be untagged and only available lighting can be used. This usually means the pages are not entirely flat and can have slight shadows/ uneven lighting across them.

 

How can I place an order with Arcre to copy a document for me?

If you already know the National Archives catalogue reference numbers for the documents required, an order can be placed using the Arcre online document copying order form.

To discover the range of documents held in the Archives and their associated reference numbers, try our specialised National Archives search engine.

Alternatively please feel free to contact us to help you find the documents you are looking for.

 

How much does it cost to copy a document from the National Archives?

Arcre is currently charging £0.08 per page plus a £3.00 charge per document. For example:

  • To copy 10 pages from a single document is £3.80;
  • To copy 100 pages from a single document is £11.00;
  • To copy 200 pages from a single document is £19.00
  • To copy 1,000 pages from a single document is £83.00.

 

Is there a minimum charge?

There is no minimum charge. If you require one page copied from a file we will do it as long as the page is easily identifiable within the document, e.g. by a page number.

 

How can I pay for my document copy order?

On completion of copying, the order can be paid by PayPal, bank transfer, UK personal cheque, or international money order. Sorry currently no credit/debit cards unless processed through PayPal.

 

How long will it take to complete my order?

We aim to complete copying within two weeks, although this cannot be guaranteed during especially busy periods. However, we often complete orders within a week to ten days.

A special rush service of 48 hours turn-around is also available at extra cost and subject to National Archives opening times.

 

How do I receive my document copies?

The digital photographs contained in a ZIP archive can be downloaded directly from the My Orders section of the website. You will be notified by email when the copying has been completed.

As the downloads can be large, sometimes in access of 300MB, we can also copy the images to a DVD and post them to you. There might be an extra cost for this service depending on order size and location.

 

Can I reproduce the copies of documents Arcre provides in a book, publication or on a website?

Arcre supplies copies of documents from the National Archives on the understanding that they are to be used for research or study purposes. If you wish to publish the images in a book, on a website or through other media then permission needs to be obtained from the National Archives Image Library.

The reproduction of images of British Government documents and other media may be subject to Crown Copyright and/or other licensing restrictions. Arcre does not claim any ownership or place any additional restrictions on images it supplies to customers. Furthermore Arcre asserts that it cannot be held liable for any misuse customers make of images created and supplied by Arcre on their behalf.