---
id: sgkb.arts-culture-media.national-archives
kind: article
title: "National Archives of Singapore"
url: https://ik.sg/en/knowledge/article/sgkb.arts-culture-media.national-archives
language: en
evidence_status: verified
last_verified: 2026-10-14
collection_as_of: 2026-10-16
---

# National Archives of Singapore

The National Archives of Singapore (NAS) is Singapore's national archives and keeper of records of national or historical significance, part of the National Library Board since 2012 and working under Part 2A of the NLB Act 1995 from 1 Canning Rise.

# National Archives of Singapore

The **National Archives of Singapore (NAS)** is Singapore's national archives: NAS describes itself as the keeper of records of national or historical significance, acquiring records from public agencies and private sources and preserving them in various media ([NAS, accessed Oct 2026](https://corporate.nas.gov.sg/about-us/our-roles/)). NAS has been an institution under the National Library Board (NLB) since 1 November 2012 and administers its mandate under Part 2A of the National Library Board Act 1995, from its home at 1 Canning Rise ([NAS, accessed Oct 2026](https://corporate.nas.gov.sg/about-us/history/); [Singapore Statutes Online, accessed Oct 2026](https://sso.agc.gov.sg/Act/NLBA1995)). NAS is the national archives, not the museums and monument authority — that role belongs to the National Heritage Board ([museums and heritage](/en/knowledge/article/sgkb.arts-culture-media.museums-and-heritage)).

## History and transfers

NAS traces its roots to the post of Archivist created within the Raffles Museum and Library in 1938 to trace, record, organise and preserve colonial records ([NAS, accessed Oct 2026](https://corporate.nas.gov.sg/about-us/history/)). The National Archives and Records Centre Act was passed in 1967 and NAS was established the following year, in 1968 ([NAS, accessed Oct 2026](https://corporate.nas.gov.sg/about-us/history/)). In 1993 NAS, together with the National Museum, came under the management of the National Heritage Board, and after a reorganisation of ministries and portfolios NAS was transferred to the National Library Board on 1 November 2012 ([NAS, accessed Oct 2026](https://corporate.nas.gov.sg/about-us/history/)).

NAS occupied several locations in its first 29 years before moving to 1 Canning Rise in 1997. In 2005 it acquired the Former Ford Factory site, where the British surrender to the Japanese Army took place on 15 February 1942, and developed it into a repository with an exhibition on the Japanese Occupation ([NAS, accessed Oct 2026](https://corporate.nas.gov.sg/about-us/history/)).

## Statutory framework under the NLB Act

Part 2A of the National Library Board Act 1995 (2020 Revised Edition), sections 14 to 25, covers the National Archives of Singapore and oral history centres; the Act's definition records that the National Archives was transferred to the board by the Statutes (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 2) Act 2012 ([Singapore Statutes Online, accessed Oct 2026](https://sso.agc.gov.sg/Act/NLBA1995)). The Act defines **public records** as records produced or received by any public office in the transaction of official business, including public archives, and **public archives** as public records that are more than 25 years old, or are specified by the board as being of national or historical significance, and that have been transferred to the board or another place the board determines ([Singapore Statutes Online, accessed Oct 2026](https://sso.agc.gov.sg/Act/NLBA1995)).

The Part's operative sections provide for the transfer of public records to NAS (section 16), allow destruction or disposal of public records only on the board's authority (section 17), provide for inspection of public records (section 18), prohibit the export and similar acts in relation to public records (section 21), and provide for oral history centres (section 23), alongside provisions transferring archive undertakings and employees from the National Heritage Board (sections 24 and 25) ([Singapore Statutes Online, accessed Oct 2026](https://sso.agc.gov.sg/Act/NLBA1995)). NLB's functions mirror this: a repository of archives of national or historical significance, records management programmes for the Government including standards and procedures, and recording, preserving and disseminating Singapore's history through oral history ([NLB — Our Role, accessed Oct 2026](https://www.nlb.gov.sg/main/about-us/About-NLB/our-role)).

## Collections, departments and services

NAS's Archives Services Department acquires photographs, maps, charts, building plans, posters, ministerial speeches and press releases from public agencies and their predecessors, and private records from individuals, clubs, societies, professional bodies, religious organisations and clan associations; it also holds records of the British administration of the Straits Settlements and copies acquired from overseas archives. Records are kept in environmentally-controlled repositories, conserved in the Archives Conservation Laboratory and digitised for research through the Archives Online portal and the Archives Reading Room, which handles around 300 enquiries a month ([NAS, accessed Oct 2026](https://corporate.nas.gov.sg/about-us/our-roles/)).

Three other departments carry statutory-adjacent duties. The Records Management Department plays a regulatory role for the Government, identifying public records of long-term value, running a records-management programme for the civil service, and training public officers in digital records, digitisation standards and archival appraisal ([NAS, accessed Oct 2026](https://corporate.nas.gov.sg/about-us/our-roles/)). The Oral History Centre, set up in 1979, records, preserves and disseminates oral history interviews of national and historical significance ([NAS, accessed Oct 2026](https://corporate.nas.gov.sg/about-us/our-roles/)). The Audio-Visual Archives Department was established in April 1995 following a 1989 recommendation by the Advisory Council on Culture and the Arts, chaired by the then Second Deputy Prime Minister, to build an audiovisual heritage collection; it prioritises and digitises at-risk audiovisual formats ([NAS, accessed Oct 2026](https://corporate.nas.gov.sg/about-us/our-roles/)). A Declassification Department sets frameworks to govern access to government records and curates the Singapore Policy History Project, and the Former Ford Factory operates as a museum under NAS with a permanent World War 2 exhibition ([NAS, accessed Oct 2026](https://corporate.nas.gov.sg/about-us/our-roles/)).

## Accessing the archives

Researchers use three entry points. **Archives Online** serves digitised photographs, maps, plans, official and private records, and oral-history and audio-visual recordings, and **E-Request** handles requests for archival materials ([NAS, accessed Oct 2026](https://corporate.nas.gov.sg/)). The **Archives Reading Room** at 1 Canning Rise is open daily from 10:00 am to 9:00 pm with staffed service from 10:00 am to 6:30 pm on weekdays, per NLB's locator ([NLB — Our Libraries and Locations, accessed Oct 2026](https://www.nlb.gov.sg/main/visit-us/our-libraries-and-locations)). The site also offers virtual tours, including a 360 tour of the Former Ford Factory exhibition on the British surrender of 15 February 1942 ([NAS, accessed Oct 2026](https://corporate.nas.gov.sg/)). NAS collections feed the wider library system ([national library board](/en/knowledge/article/sgkb.arts-culture-media.national-library-board)), and exhibitions drawing on archives, such as the National Gallery's 2026 look at archives and memory, appear in the arts and heritage calendar ([art remembers 2026](/en/knowledge/article/sgkb.arts-culture-media.art-remembers-2026)).

## Sources

- [National Archives of Singapore — History](https://corporate.nas.gov.sg/about-us/history/) — Accessed 2026-10-14
- [National Archives of Singapore — Our Roles](https://corporate.nas.gov.sg/about-us/our-roles/) — Accessed 2026-10-14
- [National Library Board Act 1995 — Singapore Statutes Online](https://sso.agc.gov.sg/Act/NLBA1995) — Accessed 2026-10-14
- [NLB — Our Role](https://www.nlb.gov.sg/main/about-us/About-NLB/our-role) — Accessed 2026-10-14
- [NLB — Our Libraries and Locations](https://www.nlb.gov.sg/main/visit-us/our-libraries-and-locations) — Accessed 2026-10-14
- [National Archives of Singapore — Home](https://corporate.nas.gov.sg/) — Accessed 2026-10-14

## Explore connections

- Articles: [Art Remembers 2026](https://ik.sg/en/knowledge/article/sgkb.arts-culture-media.art-remembers-2026)
- Articles: [Museums and Heritage](https://ik.sg/en/knowledge/article/sgkb.arts-culture-media.museums-and-heritage)
- Articles: [National Library Board](https://ik.sg/en/knowledge/article/sgkb.arts-culture-media.national-library-board)
- Articles: [Public Libraries](https://ik.sg/en/knowledge/article/sgkb.arts-culture-media.public-libraries)
- Topics: [Arts, culture and media](https://ik.sg/en/knowledge/topic/sgtopic.culture-media)
- Topics: [National Archives of Singapore](https://ik.sg/en/knowledge/topic/sgtopic.culture-media.national-archives)
- People & organisations: [National Archives of Singapore](https://ik.sg/en/knowledge/entity/sg.agency.national-archives)
- People & organisations: [National Library Board](https://ik.sg/en/knowledge/entity/sg.agency.nlb)

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