Devon County Council

• Introduction
• Photocopying and copyright
• Copies from microform
• Charges -general
• Printouts from parish register microform
• Charges - parish register entries and Inland Revenue Wills
• Charges - computer printouts
• How to pay for copies
• On-line ordering and payment

Introduction

We will provide photocopies of our documents on request, but with the following provisos:   

• The original document must be no more than A3 size
• The document must be in good condition
• The document must not be a bound volume
• Orders for a large number of copies will be accepted at our discretion, and may incur an additional handling charge

If a document has been filmed, we will provide copies from microfiche or microfilm instead.

Photocopies of original documents are not provided on demand.  Although we endeavour to complete photocopying orders placed in the search-room on the same day, this is often not possible.  We can post such orders out to you as soon as they are completed, provided that payment is made in advance before you leave.

Photocopying, use of copies and copyright

We provide copies for personal use or private research. Copies may not be used for exhibition, publication or any other use without the permission of the owner of the documents concerned, and, where copyright exists, the owner of the copyright.  Copyright is the exclusive legal right of the author of an artistic, literary or musical work to copy, publish or perform their work, or to authorise its copying, publication or performance.   Most archives are classed as literary or artistic works and so come under the laws of copyright.  This means that they may not be used, other than for personal use or private research, without the copyright owner's consent.  

Copyright lasts for a specific period depending on the kind of work, on when it was produced and by whom.  Note that in many cases the owner of the copyright is not the person who owns the document.

We cannot provide more than one copy of the same item if it is in copyright (many documents are in copyright until at least 31st December 2039).

A copyright declaration form (available from staff in the search-room), which states that you are requesting a copy for personal use or private research only, must be completed and signed with every request for copies of original documents where copyright exists.  Note that entries from parish registers of baptisms, marriages and burials may be copied without completing a copyright declaration form, as they are not in copyright.  Documents that come under Crown Copyright (works prepared under the direct control of the Crown or of a government department), and which were unpublished at the time of their deposit, may also be copied and published without formal permission.  These include tithe maps and apportionments, land tax assessments, and other records in Devon Quarter Sessions.

If you require a copy for exhibition, reproduction or publication in printed form or on a web-site, please inform us.  We can then identify and contact the document and copyright owners for permission, or assist you to do so yourself.  If you do not inform us that you wish to exhibit, reproduce or publish a document or an image to which copyright applies, you will be infringing the laws of copyright.

To read more about our copyright policy.

Return to top of page

Copies from microform

Many of our records are held on microfiche or microfilm (microform). Photocopying from microfiche or microfilm in the search-room is available on a self-service basis. You may make A4 or A3 copies of these records.   You may also order photocopies from microfiche or microfilm, by post, e-mail or fax.   These copies are posted to you provided payment is made in advance, or credit/debit card details are provided.

There are no restrictions on making printouts from microform copies of diocesan or public records; these include bishops transcripts, tithe maps and apportionments, Inland Revenue wills, Quarter Sessions records and land tax assessments.   We can provide more than one copy of an entry or page if it is not in copyright.

Orders for a large number of copies will be accepted at our discretion, and may incur additional handling charges.

An order/copyright declaration form may have to be completed and returned when copies of microform records subject to copyright restrictions are ordered by post, e-mail or fax.  

Charges - original documents and microform

Photocopies of original documents ordered in the search-room:     

• 30p per A4 sheet
• 40p per A3 sheet

plus postage and packing if necessary, according to weight, size and destination.  For minimum postage and packing charges, see below.

Printouts from microform (NOT parish register entries) made on the self-service machine in the search-room:

• 30p per A4 sheet
• 40p per A3 sheet

Photocopies of original documents ordered by post, e-mail or fax (NOT parish register entries):

There is a minimum charge:

• £1.20 for between 1 and 4 A4 sheets, then 30p per sheet for any additional copies.  
• £1.20 for between 1 and 3 A3 sheets, then 40p per sheet for any additional copies

Postage and packing charges for all of the above are added according to weight, size and destination, with a minimum local postage and packing charge of 40p.   Overseas orders will incur additional airmail postage costs.

Printouts from parish register microfiche and microfilm

Photocopying from microfiche or microfilm held in the search-room is available on a self-service basis to record office visitors.  You may also order printouts from parish register microform by post, e-mail or fax.  There are no restrictions on the number of printouts of an entry you can have copied from parish registers held on microform.  However, requests for printouts of complete registers or substantial parts of them from microform will be accepted at our discretion, and may incur an additional handling charge.  A fee per register, payable to the parish, will also be incurred.  In some cases the permission of the incumbent of the parish  may be required.  Please contact us for further information about this.

Orders for a large number of printouts of parish register entries will be accepted at our discretion, and may incur an additional handling charge.

Charges - parish register entries and Inland Revenue Wills

These are charges for copies ordered by post, e-mail or on-line.

A search of, and printout from, the parish register microfiche for a particular baptism, marriage or burial entry,  where the parish and the exact date are given:  

• 30p (where microfiche or microfilm number is supplied)  
• £1.20 (where the microfiche or microfilm number is not supplied).  This charge covers the search and a printout of the entry (or a transcript if a printout is not possible), and is non-refundable if no entry is found.

A copy of an Inland Revenue will (a full list with references can be found on the Access to Archives website):

• £1.20 for a complete will.

Postage and packing, if necessary, is added according to weight, size and destination, with a minimum local postage and packing charge of 40p.  Overseas orders will incur additional airmail postage costs.

Information on ordering  microfiche of parish registers

Photocopy charges may differ slightly in the North Devon Record Office.

Charges - computer printouts

Printouts from digitized tithe maps and other sources available on CD-ROM made in person in the search-room:

• 12p for a black and white A4 printout
• £1.00 for a colour A4 printout

Charges for a search for, and printout from, the above sources on CD-ROM, ordered by post, e-mail or on-line:  

• £1.20 for between 1 and 4 black and white A4 printouts
• £2.00 for each colour A4 printout

Postage and packing charges for all of the above are added according to weight, size and destination, with a minimum local postage and packing charge of 40p.  Overseas orders will incur additional airmail postage costs.

On-line ordering and payment

If you wish to order photocopies of parish register entries or Inland Revenue wills, you may wish to submit your photocopy request and payment on-line, using the link below.  Before using this alternative method of submission, you should always read about the charges we make for copies, and the rest of the relevant information given on this page.  

If you wish to order photocopies of other types of documents which are suitable for copying, but cannot calculate the cost yourself, you may still submit an on-line order and we will email you to let you know how much to pay before we post the copies to you.  If the documents are unsuitable for copying, we will email you  to let you know.

You should be aware that overpayments submitted on-line can only be refunded with difficulty, using a manual processing system.  For more information on various methods of payment click here.

Order Copies