Public Record Office of Northern Ireland
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A record I want to see is 'closed'

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Boxes of PRONI archives currently closed to the public.
Whilst most archives held in the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) are available to view, some records may be closed to public access for a number of reasons.

Public records

Some public records contain information that is deemed to be exempt from release under the Freedom of Information Act.  For examples of the exemptions that can be applied to historical public records see the FOI exemptions page.
You can request access to a public record which is closed under the Freedom of Information Act.  To do so you can contact PRONI in writing via letter, email or fax, or submit a PRONI enquiry form online.

Privately deposited archives

Terms of deposit

The Public Records Act (NI), 1923 (80KB) Adobe PDF formatted document Opens a new browser window. gives PRONI authority to accept privately deposited archives such as the papers of local political parties, businesses, private individuals, landed estates, solicitors’ firms, etc.
Private depositors may retain ownership and therefore control over access to the records given over to PRONI’s custody.  Private depositors tend to apply different restrictions on access to their records, including:
  • Time-bounded closures where the records are closed to public access for a set period of 30 or more years, depending on the sensitivity of the records.
    • An example of this would be the papers of a local politician whose private correspondence may be closed for 30 years.
  • ‘Privileged access’, where in response to written requests from researchers, the depositor may grant access.
    • An example of this would be the Ulster Unionist Council (UUC) papers or the archive of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP).
You may request access to an archive which is currently closed at the request of the depositor by contacting PRONI or submitting a PRONI enquiry form online.

Preservation grounds

The archive or document has been closed on preservation grounds. The document may be too fragile to be produced to the public and has been placed on a list to receive conservation treatment.
The records held in PRONI are of differing type, age and quality and come in many forms, including paper, parchment, microfilm, glass plate negatives, photographs and tapes.  Through continual use, or merely as a result of the poor original condition of the document, it may be necessary to deny access to a document until has been attended to by our conservation team.
Customers have a big part to play in the preservation of documents at PRONI, and should adhere to our dos and don’ts  and guidance for public consultation of PRONI records (112KB) Adobe PDF formatted document Opens a new browser window. at all times when visiting PRONI.
You may request information from a particular archive which is currently closed on preservation grounds by contacting PRONI or submitting a PRONI enquiry form online.

Records have not yet been catalogued

The archive or document may be closed because it has not yet been catalogued.
PRONI has a duty to ensure that archives in its custody are properly listed to international cataloguing standards.  However, in certain circumstances an archive may not have been catalogued at the time of deposit.
PRONI has an ongoing cataloguing programme so you may request access to a particular archive which is currently un-catalogued by contacting PRONI or submitting a PRONI enquiry form online.
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