About The Gazette
Since 1665 The Gazette has been the UK’s official public record and is now formally the combination of three publications: The London Gazette, The Belfast Gazette and The Edinburgh Gazette. These are the UK's official journals of record.
What notices are published in The Gazette?
As a publication, The Gazette consists largely of statutory notices. This means that there is some form of legal requirement for the notice placer to advertise an event or proposal in The Gazette.
There are over 450 different types of notice that are advertised in The Gazette, including:
- 288 notice types required by law to be published in The Gazette
- 442 notice types required by law to be published in The Gazette, as well as somewhere else (for example, a newspaper)
- 73 notice types required by law to be published, but the law doesn’t specify where
- 18 notice types that may be published in The Gazette
- 59 notice types that are optional publication, so are not required by law to be published
- 50 additional notice types that do not fall under any of the categories above
The majority of notices placed in The Gazette relate to corporate and personal insolvency or deceased estates, however you can see all the different types of notices in The Gazette and the legislation that governs them below.
When was The Gazette first published?
The Gazette was first published on 15 November 1665 after King Charles II relocated his court to Oxford to escape the Great Plague in London. Exiled courtiers were so terrified of the disease that they were unwilling to even touch London newspapers for fear of contagion. And so, The Oxford Gazette was born.
With the plague abating, and Charles II and his court moving back to the capital, The Oxford Gazette was renamed The London Gazette in 1666. It was the first official journal of record and the newspaper of the Crown and has been recording national and international events ever since.
Who can place a notice in The Gazette?
As an official public record, notices can only be placed in The Gazette by registered and verified persons acting in an official capacity, who have the authority to create an official record of fact.
For example, verified insolvency practitioners, solicitors, and executors of a will can place notices in The Gazette, as can verified organisations such as Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood, Ministry of Defence and other government departments. Notice placers are solely responsible for the content of any notice, including its validity and accuracy.
All notice placers must register with The Stationery Office (TSO). Once registered, TSO carries out validation checks to ensure that the notice placer has the authority to place the type of notice that they wish to place. For example, you must be a registered insolvency practitioner if you want to place a corporate insolvency notice.
Additional validation checks may be required to ensure that The Gazette can satisfy itself as to the legal, statutory and/or procedural requirements and accuracy relating to any notice. For example, supporting documentation may be requested, such as a court order, before a notice is submitted for publication.
The Gazette website provides information on who is authorised to place which type of notice. See more about how to place a notice below.
Placing notices in The Gazette
What else is published in The Gazette?
As well as individual notices, The Gazette also regularly publishes issues and supplements, and occasionally extraordinary editions:
- A Gazette issue a pdf/print copy which gathers all notices placed in The Gazette on the preceding day(s).
- A Gazette supplement gathers in one place multiple entries that are related to the same subject and are published at the same time, such as a weekly Ministry of Defence promotions supplement.
- A Gazette extraordinary edition is a publication deemed to require additional gravitas to reflect the importance of the event, such as declaration of war or the accession of a monarch to the throne.
You can view all the latest Gazette publications below.
Royal events
As the official newspaper of the Crown, The Gazette has played a significant part in keeping the public informed about the monarchy throughout its history.
As well as recording royal births and deaths, The Gazette has also documented every demise, accession and coronation of the King or Queen since 1685 when the death of Charles II and the coronation of his brother James II (of England and Ireland) and VII (of Scotland) was described in an issue of The Gazette.
Most recently, the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II was recorded in detail in a special Gazette supplement.
Historical events
The Gazette’s role in reporting events of historical significance was illustrated less than a year after its inception. During the Great Fire of London of 1666, The General Letter Office, which most of the country’s post passed through, burned down early on Monday morning. However, The London Gazette managed to publish its Monday issue, highlighting the fire, and described accurately how the fire started in the next issue.
The Royal Assent of Acts of Parliament are also published in The Gazette. For example, the Act of Union 1707, which led to the creation of Great Britain, was recorded in The Gazette, as was the European Union Referendum Act 2015, which made legal provision for a non-binding referendum on whether the UK should remain a member of the European Union.
More recently, COVID-19 notices were placed in The Gazette to provide an accurate and up-to-date timeline of changes in UK law under the Coronavirus Act 2020 and related legislation.
Honours and awards
The Gazette is also the official home of the King’s Birthday and New Year Honours lists, which are published on the King’s official birthday in June and in the New Year. All honours supplements since 1945 can be found in The Gazette, with searchable individual notice pages for recent recipients.
Other awards conferred or approved by the reigning monarch which are published in The Gazette include the King's Awards for Enterprise and the King's Awards for Voluntary Service, as well as Prime Minister's Resignation Honours and Dissolution Honours.
Military promotions, awards and events in The Gazette
The Gazette is the official bearer of War Office and Ministry of Defence (MOD) events. For hundreds of years The Gazette has been publishing promotions, honours and awards of armed forces personnel, as well as announcing declarations of war and peace treaties, making it a key resource for researchers and historians.
For example, during World War I and World War II, reports from commanders-in-chief were published in The Gazette. Activities and achievements of the war were detailed, with individuals mentioned in despatches.
To this day, military personnel are gazetted in weekly Ministry of Defence supplements, which are published in the London edition of The Gazette every Tuesday. These supplements include promotions, commissions and appointments in the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force.
Company information (Company profile)
The Gazette publishes a profile of every company in the UK registered with Companies House. Each company has its own profile page showing:
- Registered address
- Nature of business
- Company Type
- Incorporated on
- Previous company names
- Accounts
- Timeline with Gazetted data
- Actions to view associated notices, share this company, search for another company
- Signposting to associated notices more visibly
- Signposting to CH with a date it was last updated.
- Feedback mechanism to gather feedback for future improvements and innovation
The Company Law Supplement is also published weekly in all three editions of The Gazette and details information notified to, or by, the Registrar of Companies.
Data Service
The Gazette is a rich source of open data, including longitudinal datasets and linked data, and contains valuable information and records that you can search for and download free of charge.
It’s free for the developer community to use and repurpose and (unless stated otherwise) is free for you to use under the Open Government Licence.
The Gazette’s Data Service can provide you with this timely official company, insolvency and deceased estates information, direct to your inbox, to aid data driven decision-making. Our authorised data can help your business with:
- KYC / Due Diligence
- Risk Management
- Regulatory Compliance
- Business Development
- Business Intelligence and Strategy
Why are notices published in The Gazette?
Notices placed in The Gazette have legal standing, and The Gazette itself is given special protection by the Documentary Evidence Act 1882.
The legal power to print and publish The Gazette is a prerogative power conferred on the King’s Printer by letters patent. Letters patent are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order, in this case issued by the monarch.
The King's Printer and the Controller of HMSO have historically been viewed as one and the same person, and it can be inferred that the functions of the King’s Printer are to be carried out by HMSO operating from within The National Archives, under the direction of the Controller and Keeper (who is the chief executive of The National Archives). The National Archives (HMSO) manages the publication of all three of the individual Gazette titles (London, Belfast and Edinburgh) for the King’s Printer, under a concessionary contract.