The National Archives (NATT) is located at the corner of St. Vincent and New Streets, in upper Port of Spain. Free parking is available in our secure car park. NATT’s Search Room, where reference services are offered, is located in the second building on the compound.

The opening hours are from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. Monday to Friday. We are closed on weekends and public holidays.

The Search Room is opened to the public during the lunch hour.

There is no charge for using the National Archives’ reference service.

There is no cafeteria available on the premises. You may bring a snack and/or drink to be consumed in a small area outside the Search Room. There is a strict no eating or drinking policy in the Search Room.

Groups of 5-20 persons can be accommodated for tours of our facility – Search Room, vaults, and Conservation and Digitization Labs.  You are required to book tours one week in advance by sending a letter via email to enquiries@archives.gov.tt.  The name of your group, school or organization, the size of your group and your specific area of interest, should be specified.  NATT has curated various exhibitions from which one can be mounted to suit your area of interest.

An appointment is recommended but we do accommodate walk-in visitors once there is available space in the Public Search Room. You can request an appointment by emailing us at enquiries@archives.gov.tt or calling us at 1-868-623-2874 Ext 3035 or 3036. 

On entry, you are required to first sign the register and check with the Security Guard who will brief you on the rules and regulations of the Search Room. Lockers are provided for your personal belongings. Only pencils, paper/notepad, laptop, camera and cell phone will be allowed in the Search Room.   

You will then proceed to the Reference Desk where you are required to complete and sign an “Application for Research” form. This form is required for each visit, one form per day. A short interview will be done by the Archives Assistant to determine your research needs and guide your search, if required. 

Once your archival document is identified, it will be brought out by our vault attendant. Unlike a library, where books are stored on shelves and are easily retrievable, archival documents are stored in secure vaults and will be brought out by the vault attendant only when required for use.  

You are requested to keep the order of any documents that may be brought to you. 

To make the most efficient use of your time, please consult the list of our collections available on our website https://natt.gov.tt/collection-index, or telephone or e-mail us in advance to make sure that the records you want to see may be available. 

Further details about using our collections are available on our website 
https://natt.gov.tt/our-collection

Cell phones should either be switched off or put on the silent/vibrate mode when conducting research in the Search Room. Additionally, all cell phone calls should be answered outside of the Search Room so as not to disturb other researchers.

All rules governing the Search Room must be observed:

• Pens are not allowed in the Search Room especially when using the archival records. Only pencils are to be used.  
• No eating or drinking in the Search Room
• No pressing or writing on the archival record
• Do not disturb other researchers by speaking loudly
• Do not tear, cut or rip out pages from archival records
• Do not bend archival records
• Handle all archival records with care
• Flash photography is not permitted
• Hand-held scanners are not permitted
   

The collection of archival records held by the National Archives is of enduring historical value, unique and irreplaceable. As such, National Archives does not loan books or documents. It is a reference only facility. This applies to the small library reference collection that is also available. There are no exceptions to this rule.

It can take approximately three to ten minutes depending on the size and location of the items.

A researcher can be denied access to a document if it is in poor condition, being restored or if there are access restrictions set by the donor or legislation.

Yes, you can use a laptop in the Search Room. Be sure to inform the Archives Assistant at the Reference Desk before any such device is used.

Researchers must never mark or note anything on the documents at the National Archives. Paper tags are provided for marking relevant pages to be copied.

You are not allowed to lean against, press on or tear off any of the archival documents.  If you are experiencing any difficulties handling any documents, please ask the Archives Assistant at the Reference Desk to assist you in dealing with the item.  

Researchers are allowed a maximum of three (3) documents at any one time.

Such requests are not accommodated. You may however, inquire if a particular document is contained in our holdings.

Photocopies or any other forms of reproductions, are allowed once they are in line with the Copyright Act of Trinidad and Tobago, the original records are in good condition and there are no other access restrictions. Please note that you are required to complete and sign a Reproduction Form detailing what records are being copied (by scanning, photocopying, or photographing), and for what purpose, as you will be responsible for any copyright infringement. Each researcher is allowed five photocopies per day.   

You are required to seek permission to photograph any archival document from the Archives Assistant as there may be restrictions and particular care required on some records. Once approved, you will complete and sign the Reproduction Form that records what pages you have taken and the quantity of photos taken.

Flash photography is strictly prohibited in the Search Room as the light from the flash can contribute to damaging the fragile documents. 

Scanning is highly recommended for documents which may be difficult to photocopy and which may be fragile. When requesting scans of documents, images or maps, you are required to indicate its use, as well as any required technical specifications, such as file format (jpg, tiff or pdf), resolution, and size. Digital copies can be emailed or saved on a flash drive that you provide if files are large. The length of time to receive scanned documents is relative to the quantity of records to be scanned, and the work demands of the Digitization Lab. You can expect to receive your scanned copies within four days.

At present, there is no online access to digital archival documents but there are plans to do so. In the interim, we offer a limited on-demand remote service upon request, for archival records that may be easily located for scanning.

The National Archives can perform preliminary research on your behalf.  That said, however, in order to facilitate a successful search, you must provide as much pertinent and concise information on the subject matter as possible.  You can send you request/enquiry to: enquiries@archives.gov.tt

You can call the Search Room and speak to the Archives Assistants at the Reference Desk.  Once you have concise information, they may be able to assist you by conducting preliminary research (not in-depth research) on your behalf.  The results from the search will be relayed to you by either email or telephone.  Should more time be needed to facilitate the research, you will be called and informed of such.

All preliminary research services provided by the National Archives are free.  If your request, however, is one that requires in-depth research that is beyond the preliminary research capacity that is offered at the National Archives, you will be informed of such and recommendations for “Paid Researchers” will be provided to you.

You are required to fill out a Certification Form at the Reference Desk and state on the form the purpose for which the certified document is required.  The document will be copied and sent to the Government Archivist for certification.  This process normally takes a maximum of two (2) days.  You will be notified via email or telephone when the certified document is ready for pick-up.

Yes, you can do so but you would need to contact the Search Room staff by phone or email to inform them.  You should state the name of the person who will be collecting on your behalf.