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 6 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.

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 SANHS library or archive collections using the online booking system. SANHS members wishing to borrow an item from the SANHS library will need to email or phone to make an appointment and give details of what they wish to borrow.

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

We would prefer you to pay by contactless payment however cash payments will be accepted.

You can find information about costs on our Charges page.

Most parish registers are available on subscription services (Ancestry for Somerset 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 by appointment. Here are the guidelines to deposit with the Somerset 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, Monthly and Annual licences. Please see our charges page for more information.

If you intend to publish images or transcripts, or to post them on the internet you will need to apply for permission from the Archives and Local Studies Service using our Permission to Use Collections form.

The use of hand-held scanners is not permitted.