Its collections are significant both from a legal and historical point of view, and they include Il-Kantilena, the earliest known text in the Maltese language.

Since the 2010s, efforts have been made to preserve and digitise the archives, and as of 2019 there is an ongoing project to convert its premises into a conservation hub.

The Notarial Archives were established by Grand Master Giovanni Paolo Lascaris through an instrument dated 10 July 1640.

In April 1942, the building they were housed in received two direct hits from aerial bombardment, and about 2,000 volumes were destroyed or damaged.

[6] In 2008, some damaged documents which dated back to the 15th century were collected by a handyman and placed in garbage bags to be disposed of, but they were not thrown away and were rediscovered later.

[1] The oldest known text in the Maltese language, a 15th-century poem called Il-Kantilena by Pietru Caxaro, is preserved at the Notarial Archives.

It was discovered by Godfrey Wettinger and Mikiel Fsadni in 1966 in the notarial register of Brandano Caxaro, the poet's nephew, which dated from 1533 to 1536.

[6] Later documents held by the archives include an 1861 letter franked with the first printing of Malta's first stamp, the Halfpenny Yellow.

[1] People requesting to inspect or make a copy of documents need to supply certain information such as the nature of the deed, the date and the notary involved.

[16] The archives are also used for historical research since they are a primary source about life in Malta from the 15th century to the present day,[1] and they tell the country's history from the perspectives of its people from all classes of society.

[6] People conducting historical research from the archives are required to submit an application which needs to be approved by the minister.

[10][22][23] In August 2013, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, finance minister Edward Scicluna and parliamentary secretary for justice Owen Bonnici visited the archives, and Abela described it as "mother of all archives" but said that its collections' poor state made it "Malta's national monument of shame".

[3][24] The Notarial Archives began various collaborations with the University of Malta, including a project with the Department of Artificial Intelligence which led to the establishment of a research tool known as NotaryPedia in 2018.