The mission of the National Archives of Scotland is to select, preserve, and make available the national archives of Scotland in whatever medium, to the highest standards; to promote the growth and maintenance of proper archive provision throughout the country; and to lead the development of archival practice in Scotland.

Headed by the Keeper of Records for Scotland, the National Archives of Scotland is an Associated Department and Executive Agency of the Scottish Government, staffed by civil servants.

The NAS is the main repository for sources of Scotland's history as a separate kingdom, her role within the British Isles, and her links with other countries over the centuries. It holds records spanning the 12th to the 21st centuries, touching on virtually every aspect of Scottish life, including the public and legal records of Scotland, and many local and private archives.

The NAS plays an important role in Scotland's economic and cultural life. The property market in Scotland is dependent on the services provided by the NAS to legal searchers, while its historical records are much used in lifelong learning and are a major attraction for genealogists, which helps promote tourism. In addition to advising Scottish Ministers on records and information policy, the NAS advises Scottish public authorities about the creation and management of their records, it advises public and private owners about their historical records and it provides a reference service to the public on all aspects of the national archives. Each year the NAS staff deal with about 12,000 visits to its search rooms and provide visitors with access to around 250,000 records. Some 750,000 copies from legal and historical records are made, providing customers with around 5,000 extracts from legal registers, and answers around 9,000 postal and E-mail enquiries.

The National Archives of Scotland (NAS) keeps records created by Scottish government, as well as private records created by businesses, landed estates, families, courts, churches and other corporate bodies. The main categories of records in the NAS are as follows:

Government - records of pre-1707 Scottish crown, parliament and government; records of the post-1886 Scottish Office and Scottish Government.

Legal registers - registers of deeds and sasines; services of heirs.

Courts - records of the Court of Session, the High Court of Justiciary, sheriff courts (including adoption records) and commissary courts.

Churches - kirk session, presbytery and synod records for the Church of Scotland, Free Church, and various dissenting ('seceding') congregations; records of the Scottish Episcopal Church; copies of the records of baptisms, marriages and burials for Roman Catholics before 1855. Note that Church of Scotland baptisms, marriages and burials are held by the General Register Office for Scotland although there are a small number of records of baptisms for 1843-1860 held by the NAS.

Nationalised industries and transport - records of the rail and canal systems, coal, gas, electricity, steel and shipbuilding industries.

Local authorities - Valuation Rolls for all Scottish counties and burghs 1855-1995; records of some burghs, county councils, justices of the peace and other local authorities.

Private and corporate bodies - family, legal and estate papers; records of businesses, societies and institutions.

Maps and plans - maps, plans, architectural and technical drawings from government departments, nationalised industries, transport systems, courts, churches, private and corporate bodies.

Records can be consulted in two buildings: General Register House and West Register House.

Housed in the General Register House, the Historical Search Room is generally recommended for initial research into family or local history. Its holdings include church records, the papers of landed and noble families, business and property records, within the following main categories: (i) Records of the pre-1707 Scottish Government and Parliament, Privy Council, Treasurer's Accounts, and Registers of the Great and Privy Seal; (ii) Records of the Parish Kirk sessions of the established Church of Scotland, the Free Church and the various dissenting ('seceding') congregations, and copies of the records of baptisms, marriages and burials for Roman Catholics before 1855; (iii) Legal Registers, Registers of Deeds and Sasines, and Services of Heirs; (iv) Early Court of Session records, Justiciary Court records (pre 1800), and some sheriff court and commissary court records; (v) Local records, Burgh records and valuation rolls; (vi) Private records, family, legal and estate papers, and records of businesses, societies and institutions.

Housed in West Register House, the West Search Room holds material relevant to research into legal cases, government policy after 1886, railways, mining, engineering, geography and architecture, including information on the lives of workers in these fields. Its main holdings include: (i) Modern government files: records of the Scottish Office and Scottish Executive; (ii) Court records: Court of Session, Justiciary Court (post 1800) and some sheriff court records; and (iii) Records of the former nationalised industries: coal, rail, gas, electricity and steel. The West Search Room also houses almost all maps and plans held within the NAS, which can be searched via electronic and paper catalogues, as well as a card index.

The National Archives of Scotland is not the only repository of historical records in Scotland.

The General Register Office for Scotland (GROS) keeps civil registers of births, deaths and marriages; census returns; and old parish regsiters of baptisms, marriages and burials. Some of these records are available using the Scotlands People E-commerce website.

A wide variety of historical records is also held by archive, library and museum services of local authorities, universities, health boards and private insitutions. The most comprehensive guide to these can be found in the Scottish Archive Network (SCAN) website, where you can also search a unified catalogue to collections in more than 50 Scottish archives and libraries.

Some government records relating to Scotland (including ship passenger lists and modern military records) are held by the National Archives in London.

The National Library of Scotland is UK legal deposit library and also holds collections of manuscripts, maps and newspapers.

The records of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) relate to buildings, sites, and ancient monuments of archaeological, architectural and historical interest, including maritime sites and underwater constructions in Scotland.

The Scottish Screen Archive preserves archive film in Scotland and collects written and photographic materials relating to the development of cinema exhibition and film production in Scotland over the past 100 years.

Some records of central government functions relating to Scotland are held by the National Archives in London. Most service records of soldiers, sailors and airmen after the Union of Scotland and England in 1707, ship passenger lists from 1890 and records of immigration to the United Kingdom are held there.

The National Register of Archives for Scotland (NRAS) surveys papers held by private individuals and families, landed estates, clubs and societies, businesses and law firms and arranges access to them by researchers. The surveys can be consulted in the National Archives of Scotland and the National Library of Scotland.

Categories of record which are not, as a rule, in the NAS, include army, navy and air force service records, census returns, civil registers of births, deaths and marriages, film, local government records, old parish registers of baptisms, marriages and deaths, records in private hands, ship passenger lists, and UK government records.

The NAS is organised into two divisions – Record Services and Corporate Services, each headed by a Deputy Keeper.