National Records of Scotland (NRS) is a Non Ministerial Office (formerly described as Non-Ministerial Department) of the Scottish Government. Our purpose is to collect, preserve and produce information about Scotland’s people and history and make it available to inform current and future generations.
We were established on 1 April 2011, following the merger of the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS) and the National Archives of Scotland (NAS). For administrative purposes we sit within the Scottish Government’s Culture, Europe and External Affairs portfolio.
We are headed by Paul Lowe, our Chief Executive, who fulfils the roles of two non-ministerial office holders – the Registrar General for Scotland and the Keeper of the Records of Scotland.