skip to main content

Legislation

The text of many public, local and private acts as well as statutory instruments and secondary legislation/regulations can be accessed online for free, or via paid subscription services.

If you need help identifying relevant acts and understanding the processes behind the introduction of legislation you might find it useful to explore the Making Laws webpages produced by the Houses of Parliament.

Public Acts

Local and Private Acts

UK Statutory Instruments

Accessing UK legislation offline

The Parliamentary Archives holds physical copies of:

  • Public, local, personal and private acts, 1497-present
  • UK statutory instruments, 1891-1987

Universities and large reference libraries are also likely to hold printed copies of UK legislation.

Copies of local statutory instruments can be very hard to obtain. You might wish to consult The National Archives UK research guide covering statutory instruments or contact the British Library Official Publications section. The Parliamentary Archives do not hold copies of local statutory instruments.