The Scottish Register of Tartans: fees review
Feedback updated 4 Sep 2025
We asked
National Records of Scotland (NRS) published this consultation on the fees associated with the Scottish Register of Tartans, asking four key questions about the future of the register.
We asked respondents to provide their views on our proposals to increase the fees associated with the Register. We also sought views on a proposal to discontinue the provision of framed certificates.
You said
Of the 30 respondents:
- 28 agreed with the proposal that NRS should recover its costs for delivering the tartans service. Two respondents disagreed. 20 respondents provided additional comments on the proposal.
- Nine had no comments on the revised fees proposed in the consultation, while 21 made comments. Many of those who made comments supported the fees as proposed.
- 24 agreed that future fees should increase with inflation, five disagreed and one did not know. Additional comments on inflationary increases were provided by 15 respondents.
- 22 agreed that NRS should discontinue providing framed certificates, six disagreed and two did not know. 17 respondents provided additional comments.
We did
Following analysis of all the responses, the Keeper of the Scottish Register of Tartans (the Keeper) recommends that Scottish Ministers increase the fees associated with the Register to the level proposed in our consultation paper. The Keeper also recommends that NRS should no longer offer framed certificates as part of the service.
Results updated 4 Sep 2025
You can find the full consultation analysis on the NRS website at the link below.
Links:
Published responses
View submitted responses where consent has been given to publish the response.
Overview
We want to hear your views about the fees associated with the Scottish Register of Tartans (the Register). Since 2009, National Records of Scotland (NRS) has maintained and overseen the Register. It is internationally recognised as the pre-eminent repository for the promotion and preservation of tartans. With more than 10,000 tartans, the Register promotes and protects information about one of Scotland’s most recognisable cultural assets.
NRS is a non-ministerial department in the devolved Scottish administration. As such the Scottish Public Finance Manual (the Manual) applies to NRS. Guidance in the Manual states that our fees should recover the costs of the services we provide. Fees relating to the Register have not changed since they were first set in 2009. That means that NRS currently does not recover the costs of the service. Scottish Ministers set the fees through secondary legislation and have agreed, in principle, to amend the fees to recover the costs of the service. This consultation seeks stakeholders’ views on our proposed new fees.
Read the consultation paper. The consultation paper contains full background information for this consultation. You may find it useful to read or refer to while responding.
Useful information about responding to this consultation
As you complete your response, each page will provide the option to 'Save and come back later' at the bottom. This means you can save your progress and return to the consultation at any time before it closes. If you don't use this feature and leave the consultation midway through, your response will be lost.
Once you have submitted your response, you can enter your email address to get a pdf copy of your answers sent to you.
On the 'About You' page at the end of this consultation, organisations will have the opportunity to tell us more about their work and/or how their response was informed.
After the consultation has closed there will be a few months delay before any responses are published. This is because we must check any responses to be published abide by our Terms of Use.
An analysis report will usually be published some months after the consultation has closed. This report will summarise the findings based on all responses submitted. It will be published on the NRS website and you may be notified about it if you choose to share your email address with us.
Why your views matter
Our customers are at the heart of everything we do at National Records of Scotland. The Register is a vital tool for preserving and cherishing one of our most iconic cultural assets, not just in Scotland but across the world. The fees have not changed since the Register was established more than 15 years ago. Without a review of the existing tartans fees, there are significant risks that the service may diminish because of a lack of appropriate funding. We want to make sure that we get any changes right.
What happens next
We will collate and analyse your responses together with any other evidence. We will publish an analysis report in the summer. Where respondents have given permission, we will publish responses that do not contain defamatory material.
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