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Legislation.gov.uk
What Legislation.gov.uk is
Legislation.gov.uk is a free website and API for finding UK legislation and its explanatory documents. It is the official publication site for newly enacted legislation and is managed by The National Archives on behalf of HM Government. Search by title or keywords, browse by type and category, or narrow searches with content keywords and geographic extent. Coverage includes most types of UK legislation, with primary legislation from 1988 onward and secondary legislation from 1987 onward; the site notes gaps and exceptions. Revised texts incorporate amendments, and point-in-time versions show legislation as it stood at a selected time. A separate list identifies changes not yet applied to revised text, which may not be fully current. New legislation is targeted for publication alongside print or within 24 hours, though complex documents may first appear as PDFs. Pages offer HTML5, XML, Akoma Ntoso, RDFa, and RDF/XML formats. The API provides content, metadata, search, lists, and feeds, subject to a limit of 3,000 requests per IP address every five minutes and a user-agent requirement.
Who it suits
It suits people looking up legislation across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, as well as developers needing legislation data through an API. Users should check the stated coverage gaps and update warnings when relying on revised texts.
What it does well
- Free access through web and API.
- Search by title, keywords, and geographic extent.
- Point-in-time versions show legislation at a chosen time.
- Pages provide several structured data formats.
- Free feeds notify subscribers of new legislation.
What to know first
- Coverage has gaps and stated exceptions.
- Revised legislation may not be fully up to date.
- API limits each IP to 3,000 requests per five minutes.
- Some documents may initially appear only as PDFs.
Limits
The API fair use policy currently allows 3,000 requests per IP address every five minutes and requires a user agent. Holdings have gaps and exceptions, and revised legislation may not include changes that are still awaiting application.
Getting started
- Visit https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ in a web browser.
- Search by title or keywords, or browse legislation by type and category.
- Use advanced search to enter content keywords and geographic extent.
- For programmatic access, use the Legislation API and identify non-browser requests with a user-agent string.
- Subscribe to a homepage feed for updates to newly enacted legislation.
Verdict
Legislation.gov.uk combines official publication of new legislation with search, revised texts, historical versions, and data access. Its coverage and update caveats matter, so check the relevant document status before relying on a text.
Questions
Is Legislation.gov.uk free?
Yes. The site offers a free plan, and its homepage provides free subscription feeds.
Which platforms are supported?
The listed platforms are web and API.
What jurisdictions does it cover?
It covers England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Can I access legislation through an API?
Yes. The API supports legislation content and metadata, search, lists, feeds and multiple formats. Its fair use policy limits each IP address to 3,000 requests every five minutes and requires a user agent.
Is the content open for reuse?
Content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 unless otherwise stated; some EU-derived content has separate reuse terms.
Who manages the site?
The National Archives manages it on behalf of HM Government.
Facts from Legislation.gov.uk's own pages
- Accessibility
- Users can request large print or braille copies of most enacted and revised legislation, except content available only as scanned PDFs. · legislation.gov.uk, 9 Oct 2026
- API
- The Legislation API supports access to legislation content and metadata, search, lists, feeds, and multiple formats. · legislation.github.io, 9 Oct 2026
- API and fair use
- The site provides an API with data formats described on its Formats page, and asks non-browser users to identify scrapers or crawlers with a legitimate user-agent string. · legislation.gov.uk, 9 Oct 2026
- API limit
- The API fair use policy currently limits each IP address to 3,000 requests every 5 minutes and requires a user agent. · legislation.github.io, 9 Oct 2026
- Change tracking
- The site lists changes that have not yet been applied to revised text, and warns that revised legislation may not be fully up to date. · legislation.gov.uk, 9 Oct 2026
- Coverage
- The site carries most types of UK legislation, including primary legislation from 1988 onward and secondary legislation from 1987 onward, with stated exceptions and gaps. · legislation.gov.uk, 9 Oct 2026
- Coverage limits
- The site notes that some legislation is absent because it is not available in a web-publishable format, and that its holdings are not complete for every type and year. · legislation.gov.uk, 9 Oct 2026
- Feeds
- Free Atom subscription feeds provide updates on newly published legislation, with feeds available for several UK jurisdictions and legislation types. · legislation.gov.uk, 9 Oct 2026
- Formats
- Most legislation since 1988 is available in formats including HTML, plain text, and PDFs with accessible text. · legislation.gov.uk, 9 Oct 2026
- Official publication
- Legislation.gov.uk is the official place of publication for newly enacted UK legislation. · legislation.gov.uk, 9 Oct 2026
- Open data
- The site states that its content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated, with some EU-derived content under separate reuse terms. · legislation.gov.uk, 9 Oct 2026
- Operator
- The National Archives manages the website on behalf of HM Government. · legislation.gov.uk, 9 Oct 2026
- Privacy
- The privacy notice says the site generally does not use cookies and that usage information is used to assess compatibility and improve the service. · legislation.gov.uk, 9 Oct 2026
- Publication timing
- The site aims to publish new legislation simultaneously with, or within 24 hours of, its publication in printed form, though complex documents may take longer. · legislation.gov.uk, 9 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Legislation.gov.uk provides online access to UK legislation and accompanying explanatory documents. · legislation.gov.uk, 9 Oct 2026
- Reuse
- The site encourages commercial and non-commercial reuse of API data under open licences, subject to its fair use policy. · legislation.github.io, 9 Oct 2026
- Revised legislation
- The site provides access to revised legislation as it stood at specific points in time. · legislation.gov.uk, 9 Oct 2026
- Revised texts
- The editorial team incorporates amendments and other effects into revised legislation, and the site provides point-in-time versions for documents. · legislation.gov.uk, 9 Oct 2026
- Search
- Users can search by title or keywords and browse legislation by type and category; advanced search includes content keywords and geographic extent. · legislation.gov.uk, 9 Oct 2026
- Support
- The site team handles queries about publishing enacted and revised legislation and accepts feedback by email; it says it can assist only with English-language enquiries. · legislation.gov.uk, 9 Oct 2026
Where Legislation.gov.uk stands on Freedom251
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