The National Archives (TNA) has announced a new delivery service for Ministry of Defence (MoD) records, including Second World War service records, with fees starting at £42.25.
The records were previously held by the MoD but began being transferred to TNA in 2021. Some records have now been published online by Ancestry, subject to privacy restrictions.
TNA announced that, from 2 February 2026, fees will be introduced for access to open and closed records.
The fees will be £42.25 for digital copies and £47.16 for print copies under the Standard Service, described as “a streamlined service providing the key documents within an individual’s military service at a fixed cost”.
The other option, Full Record Check, will be charged on a per-page basis with an upfront cost of £48.87 for a search and page check.
TNA said it had been “a significant challenge” to meet the demand for the records since they were transferred from the MoD.
TNA initially allowed researchers to request the records via Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, with the only cost being a charge for copying pages.
However, TNA's January 2025 report on its FOI Action Plan says that demand for FOI requests "dramatically outstripped the pace of investment in extra resource", adding "In 2022 our annual Freedom of Information (FOI) requests for access to the MOD service personnel records were just shy of 8,000. In 2023 the annual figure was over 17,000, and at the mid-point of 2024 the volume had already exceeded 16,500 requests." TNA says it has now recruited extra staff to work on MoD records access.
TNA said the fees were not for profit and would allow it to cover costs and offer “a more timely and better-quality service”, with users requesting the Standard Service after 2 February receiving their records within 30 days.
Researchers seeking to order records must therefore choose whether to order them now for a lower cost, or order them after 2 February and pay the fee in the hope of receiving them in a shorter timeframe.
Records access will remain free for those requesting their own service record or requesting on behalf of a living person born before 1940.
TNA also announced a broader increase in service fees, the first since 2019.
The increase in charges will also be introduced on 2 February. For advice on how to order records before the price rise, visit TNA's guide to ordering Second World War service records.
The cost of a 15 minute search will increase from £24.35 to £38.95, the cost of a naturalisation certificate will increase from £27.15 to £68.84, and the cost of a page check will increase from £8.40 to £9.92.
