How to contact The London Archives

Guidance

How to contact us

The best way to ask us a question is via our contact form which you can access through the 'Ask us a Question' link on this page.

Our enquiry service can help you:

identify records and collections held by The London Archives
find out how to access and view material
get advice about using our archives for research

Before contacting us, we recommend:

checking our research guides, as they may already contain the information you need.
searching our Collections Catalogue using keywords and dates to try and identify records of interest.
preparing a clear, concise and focused question about the records we hold at The London Archives.
double checking any information given to you by AI.

You can help us to respond to you effectively by:

focusing on a single research question.
telling us about relevant research that you've already done (including our research guides and other sources) .
including full document reference numbers from our Collections Catalogue (or if you found them elsewhere, please let us know where you found them).
writing your question in no more than a few short paragraphs.

Using AI to write your question

We are receiving an increasing number of enquiries generated using AI tools. AI can produce inaccurate references, dates and catalogue information, and it cannot reliably search our Collections Catalogue. We recommend checking any AI-generated information before submitting an enquiry, as this will help us provide a more accurate response (for example, please check AI generated document references in our catalogue, by searching for them).

We respond to all enquiries within 10 working days.

Frequently asked questions about our enquiry service

What information should I include in my enquiry?

Can TLA staff research the collections on my behalf?

Can you help with my family history?

Are you able to provide remote access to your collections?

Can I request digital copies of material?

Do I need to book an appointment to visit?

Ready to ask us a question?

Please make sure that you have read and understood the guidance provided above before submitting your question.

Ask us a question

Phone

If your online access is limited and you need to speak to someone, you can call us on 020 7332 3820. The telephone service operates from Monday to Thursday during the following hours:

10 to 11:30am
2 to 3:30pm

By post

Our postal address is: The London Archives, 40 Northampton Road, London EC1R 0HB