NRS operates at the heart of Scotland’s public life, providing trusted information about the Scottish state and its people through civil registration services, population data and statistics, and safe stewardship of Scotland’s national archive.
NRS is a Non-Ministerial Department of the wider Scottish Administration and was created to deliver the legislative responsibilities and functions of two non-ministerial offices: the Registrar General for Scotland and the Keeper of the Records of Scotland. Both of these roles are held by the NRS Chief Executive.
We collect, preserve and produce information about Scotland’s people and history, and make it publicly available to inform current and future generations.
We are responsible for the registration and statistical functions of the Registrar General for Scotland and the archival and record keeping functions of the Keeper of the Records of Scotland.
NRS publishes key performance indicators on its annual delivery performance in our Annual Report and Accounts (laid before the Scottish Parliament) and is subject to scrutiny on our performance and compliance from internal and external audit. We report annually on delivery of our statutory functions to the Scottish Parliament and the wider public.
Our core functions
We are the repository for Scotland’s public and legal records. We make available one of the most varied collections of records in Britain, spanning the 12th to 21st centuries.
We provide leadership and support for archive and record professionals and oversee statutory arrangements for public authority records management.
We provide leadership across Scotland’s 32 local authorities for the registration of life events including births, marriages, civil partnerships, deaths and adoptions, and are responsible for the formalities of marriage and civil partnership in Scotland.
Our Scotland’s People service allows customers from all over the world to order copies of certificates, research their Scottish ancestry and access our archives online.
We are responsible for the Scottish Register of Tartans, registering and making available information on historic and contemporary tartans.
We take the census of Scotland’s population every 10 years, providing unique statistics on who we are and how we live our lives. These statistics are central to decision making on public funding and the development of policy and services.
We publish a wide range of statistics on the population of Scotland: demography, migration, households, life expectancy, mortality, health, and vital events. These publications help the people of Scotland understand our changing society.
We maintain the National Health Service Central Register (NHSCR) to support critical functions of Health Boards and local authorities and for statistical and research purposes.
We are key to the delivery of the national infrastructure for data linkage research and analysis like the Scottish Longitudinal Study and the National Safe Haven, unlocking insights that maximise the value of our data holdings.
