The Government Offices Records Centre

"To encourage the free exchange of opinion and availability of comprehensive information, every Swedish citizen shall be entitled to have free access to official documents."

(Chapter 2, Article 1 of the Freedom of Press Act)

The Constitution guarantees everyone - whether citizen or resident - certain rights in relation to the State and the powers exercised by public authorities. They are entitled to see how the country's political representatives are spending tax money and may demand to read information that is stored in official records.

Anyone who wishes to have access to official documents from the Government Offices is welcome to visit the Records Centre. Knowledgeable and qualified personnel are on hand to answer questions and help visitors look for and access official documents. In the reading rooms, visitors can study documents stored at the Centre and search in the ministry register which contains information relating to ministerial business and EU documents and can be called up at presentation terminals.

A national cultural heritage

The records of Government authorities are part of the national cultural heritage. Government decisions and the work done by ministries, matters that affect the daily lives of the countrys citizens in on way or another, are all documented at the Records Centre.

Citizens' rights

Sweden has around 250 government authorities, the activities of which concern every citizen. The Government Offices is one such authority and consists of the Prime Ministers Office, the ministries and the Office for Administrative Affairs.

To guarantee an open society in which everyone has access to information about the work done by the Riksdag, the Government and other public bodies, the principle of the public access to official documents is provided for in the Freedom of the Press Act. This principle gives the general public the right to read official documents submitted to or drawn up by the authorites. The Government Offices Records Centre is a good example of how the Swedish principle of public access to official documents works in practice.

A transparent and accessible Government administration

The Government Offices seek transparency in dealings with the countrys citizens. Accessing official documents kept at the Government Offices should be a simple and straightforward process. Through the Records Centre, anyone can gain an insight into the work done by the Government Offices, and the Centre acts as a model for other public administrations with regard to the right of everyone to access official documents.

What can you find in the Government Offices archives?

• Cabinet minutes
• Ministry minutes
• Government Offices minutes
• Draft government decisions
• Registers
• Cabinet files
• Ministry files
• Cabinet ministers correspondence

Documentation from certain delegations and working groups is also kept at the Records Centre. There are also video tapes of press conferences as well as videos, CDs and audio recordings relating to specific issues.

The Government Offices Records Centre also has copies of official publications such as:

• The Swedish Code of Statutes (Svensk författningssamling, SFS)
• The Swedish Government Official Reports (Statens offentliga utredningar, SOU)
• The Ministry Publications Series (Departementsserien, Ds)
• Parliamentary documents (Riksdagstryck)

What is an official document?

• All documents contain information of some kind: text, images or information stored in some other format, for example, on a computer.
• A document is classified as official if it has been submitted to, was drawn up by or is in the keeping of a public authority.
• In principle all official documents are public and must be made available to anyone wishing to read them.
• Official documents may in certain cases be classified as secret if they contain information relating to the security of the realm, the personal or financial circumstances of individual citizens or crime prevention activities by public authorities.
• Memoranda and draft decisions are not normally classified as official documents. How to contact the Government Offices Records Centre

Ministries and authorities may borrow material from the Records Centre. Private individuals are not allowed to take documents home but they can ask for documents to be sent to a local institution or library and read them there.

Visitors may order copies of documents at a small fee. We also receive many enquiries by letter, telephone, fax and e-mail and we normally consult the relevant ministry before answering them.