An appointment is strongly encouraged. We may be able to accommodate a visitor without booking but this is not guaranteed.

There are Help Guides on our online catalogue pages to help you search for relevant material. You can find the links to our catalogues here. Our research guides also provide details on many popular areas of research.

Up to 4 documents should be ordered when you make your booking. Further documents can be ordered during your session.

For Saturday visits, up to 8 documents should be pre-ordered. It may not be possible to order further documents during a Saturday session. Documents should be pre-ordered preferably at the time of booking, but by noon on the preceding Thursday at the latest.

You will be able to complete your registration as part of the online booking process. You will need to bring relevant ID to show when you come to the site. We will allocate you your Reader’s Ticket number on arrival.

We need to see evidence of your printed address and your signature. These can be on two different pieces of ID if necessary. Acceptable forms of ID include a drivers’ licence, utility bill, debit/credit card or bank statement. We unfortunately cannot accept passports.

Please leave any bags, luggage or coats in the lockers available in the foyer.  You can collect a key for the locker from the searchroom reception and return it after use. 

We advise you to bring a camera and purchase a photographic licence if you would like to take copies. We can also take orders for photocopies (where the document is suitable for this) but may not always be able to provide copies during your visit. If we are not able to provide copies during your visit due to time constraints copies ordered will be sent on either to your email address, or by post with the addition of a postage fee.

An appointment is encouraged for any access to the searchroom, however we may be able to accommodate visitors without an appointment.

Yes, you can request items from the NDA collections using the online booking system. Please consult the NDA online catalogue to obtain references. 

There are computers on site providing access to a range of resources for research, including our online catalogues and ancestry websites.

You can only pay by cash or cheque at North Devon Record Office.

At North Devon Record Office there is a small area where visitors can consume their own refreshments.

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Most parish registers are available on subscription services (Ancestry for Somerset registers and FindMyPast for Devon registers). A small range of other documents are also available via these websites. Many maps are available on Know Your Place or the Somerset Historic Environment Record. Please see our Research Guides for further information.

We accept new accessions of documents at all our sites by appointment. Guidelines about the steps you need to take are available. Please follow the appropriate guidance for the site where you are making the deposit –

North Devon Record Office

Devon Heritage Centre

You can bring in a camera to take photographs of documents, as long as you purchase a photographic licence from the main reception.  Charges apply for Daily, Weekly, and Annual Licences.  Please see our Charges Page for more information.

​Photographs of original documents must be for personal use or research.  If you wish to exhibit, reproduce or publish a photographic print or an image of a document in printed form, or publish it on a website, please inform us.  We can identify and contact the document/photograph owner, and the copyright owner for permission, or assist you to do this yourself.  If you do not inform us that you are intending to reproduce or publish an item held in our archives to which copyright applies, you will be infringing the laws of copyright.

The use of hand-held scanners is not permitted.

There is no charge for using the North Devon Record Office searchroom.  Charges are made for photocopies and printouts, digital copies and for the use of cameras.

​Please see our Charges page for more information.