What rules does The National Archives in the UK set for digitising public records before the paper originals can be destroyed?

The National Archives (TNA) in the UK does not require paper originals to be kept forever once they have been scanned. Instead, it sets out conditions under which a digitised copy can be trusted enough to stand in for the original, allowing the paper to be destroyed. The guiding idea is that the digital surrogate must be a faithful, complete and reliable representation of the source record.

Core conditions TNA expects

• A documented, repeatable process. Digitisation should follow a written procedure covering scanning, quality assurance and indexing, so the approach is consistent and auditable rather than ad hoc.
• Faithful image quality. Captured images must be legible and complete, reproducing the content, structure and any significant features of the original (for example annotations, colour where it carries meaning, and both sides of a page).
• Quality assurance checks. Each batch should be verified to confirm nothing is missing, misordered or unreadable before originals are considered for disposal.
• Captured metadata. Enough descriptive and contextual metadata must be recorded to find, identify and understand each record over time.
• Integrity and authenticity. There should be controls so the digital copy cannot be altered undetectably, with evidence of who created it and when.
• Sustainable storage and preservation. Files should be kept in suitable formats with backup, access controls and a plan to keep them readable as technology changes.

Risk and legal considerations

TNA frames the decision as a risk assessment rather than a blanket rule. Before destroying originals you should weigh the record’s value, any legal or evidential requirement to retain paper, and whether the original itself has historical or intrinsic worth. Records selected for permanent preservation, or those whose originals carry special evidential weight, may need to be kept regardless of digitisation.

Destruction must also follow your organisation’s normal disposal authority: scanning does not override an active retention period. Once the conditions are met and any retention requirement has passed, the originals can be securely and irreversibly destroyed, with the act of destruction documented.

These expectations align closely with international good practice for records in digital environments. For wider context, see the digitization and imaging topic hub.