Using the searchroom
Planning your visit
Opening hours
- Tuesday and Wednesday 9.30am to 5pm - booking strongly advised for all visitors
- Thursday and Friday 10am to 4pm - advance booking essential
The Norfolk Heritage Centre will be closed 27 April-mid July 2026 whilst the Millennium Library is shut for refurbishment.
Archives Card
You will need to register for an Archives Card before your visit. Go to https://archivescard.com/ to enter your details and upload a photograph. To complete your registration, bring two of the forms of ID listed when you visit.
Seat bookings
Tuesdays and Wednesdays
We strongly advise all visitors to book in advance by emailing [email protected]. This includes people using microfilms and the searchroom computers. Please state whether you want to consult manuscripts, sound recordings, microfilms, use the searchroom computers, or a combination. If you want to use maps, please request a map table.
You can book for the whole day or for a half-day session:
- Morning 9.30am-2pm
- Afternoon 2-5pm
You can order up to two documents in advance when you book (more documents can be ordered on the day). Please ensure that we receive requests at least 24 hours before you plan to visit.
To book and to order documents, please email [email protected]. We will confirm your booking by email.
Thursdays and Fridays
We are open 10am - 4pm for advance bookings only.
Please email [email protected] to book a place and order your documents. You can order six documents for the day.
- Documents for Thursdays must be requested by 12 noon on the preceding Tuesday
- Documents for Fridays must be ordered by 12 noon on the preceding Wednesday
Due to limited staff availability, you can view pre-ordered documents only. There are no document collections during the day.
Provided you have pre-booked, you can use the searchroom computers to access the NRO catalogue and the subscription websites Ancestry, Find my Past and The Genealogist. You can also listen to audio recordings.
On Thursdays and Fridays, access to microfilms is usually at Norfolk Heritage Centre. You can access microfilms in the NRO's searchroom on Thursdays and Fridays whilst the Norfolk Heritage Centre is closed (April-mid July 2026). This is by advance booking only. Please email [email protected] to reserve a film reader and order up to six microfilms or sets of fiche. Deadlines for booking and ordering are the same as for original documents.
Locating documents for your research
Search our online catalogue to identify which documents you wish to see and make a note of their reference numbers.
The catalogue includes set searches for popular searches (such as maps, parish registers and wills). See our help pages for guidance on using the catalogue. You can find further advice in the 'Using NROCAT' videos on the NRO's YouTube channel - how to. Our research guides suggest documents useful for many topics, such as tracing your family history or the history of your house. Our Guide to holdings gives an overview of the collections we hold.
Whilst most documents are available to consult, there are restrictions on using documents marked in the catalogue as:
- 'Unfit for production' or 'fragile'
- On microfilm - please consult the microfilm copy instead (except for maps, where we produce the originals unless they are unfit for production)
- On restricted access because they contain sensitive information - you will need written permission from the document's owner to see them
Please contact us if you need further advice.
