It is responsible for civil registration, the census in Scotland, demography and statistics, family history, as well as the national archives and historical records.

[3] National Records of Scotland is based in HM General Register House on Princes Street in the New Town in Edinburgh.

In 1551, a council of Scottish clergy enacted that all parish ministers should keep a record of baptisms, burials and marriages.

The Industrial revolution radically changed the population demographics of Scotland, with central belt parishes being swamped by migrants from the Highlands and Lowlands which also contributed to the poor record keeping in registers.

By the time of his first annual detailed report, published in 1861, the first Registrar General for Scotland, William Pitt Dundas, claimed that: "there is good reason for believing that very few births indeed now escape registration.

The 1854 Act had placed considerable burdens on the sheriffs of the Scottish counties, who had already played a role in the taking of decennial censuses.

NRS is one of the National Collections of Scotland and falls with the ministerial portfolio of the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture.

[24] The Registers of Scotland remain a separate organisation and fall within the ministerial portfolio of the Cabinet Secretary for Finance.

[34] It aims to be a leader in archival practice and acts a source of guidance to records managers and archivists in Scotland.

A web archive of sites belonging to organisations who deposit records with NRS, the service ensures that previous versions of pages and files can be accessed, while being clearly distinguishable from live content.