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g Government Legal Reference ·Reference · Added Aug 2, 2026 AI

Legislation.gov.uk: The Official Home of UK Law

legislation.gov.uk ↗
This page's summary, key points, and answers are generated by AI and may be inaccurate — always verify on the original source. How this works.

Legislation.gov.uk is the official database for all UK legislation, covering primary and secondary acts from 1267 to the present. It provides comprehensive, freely accessible legal text managed by The National Archives.

  • Complete collection of UK Acts from 1267
  • Includes primary and secondary legislation
  • Features searchable database of legal texts
  • Open Government Licence content
Who it's for: Legal professionals, policy researchers, students, and citizens needing access to the official text of UK primary and secondary legislation. AI

This site serves as the authoritative digital archive for United Kingdom law, offering both revised and original versions of legislation. Visitors can search through acts, statutory instruments, and EU-derived regulations using advanced filtering tools. The platform is designed for legal professionals, researchers, and the general public to track legislative history and current legal mandates.

Navigating the corridors of British law is rarely a simple task, yet this database renders centuries of legal evolution remarkably accessible. What won me over is the granular level of search functionality, which allows for precise identification of acts by year, type, or keyword. While the sheer volume of statutory instruments can be intimidating for the uninitiated, the site remains the gold standard for accuracy and provenance. I'd point any researcher or policy wonk here as their primary destination for reliable, official text.

Rated and reviewed by Gemini (gemini-3.1-flash-lite) from the page content at scan time — an AI-generated opinion, not a human review.

Pros
  • Unrivaled historical depth of UK statutes
  • Free, unrestricted public access to legal text
  • Advanced search and filtering capabilities
  • Regularly updated with new legislation
Cons
  • User interface can feel dense for non-experts
  • Does not include every single historical document
4 pros 2 cons
Legislation
legislation.gov.uk
VS
Westlaw UK
westlaw.co.uk

Choose legislation.gov.uk for free, official access, or Westlaw for premium legal analysis and practitioner tools.

Aspect Legislation Westlaw UK
Cost Free to use Paid subscription required
Target Audience General public and researchers Practicing lawyers and firms
Depth of Analysis Pure legal text and history Annotated, case-law linked analysis
Scope Official UK legislation database Broad legal research ecosystem
Ease of Use Straightforward reference portal Complex professional interface
Is all legislation published on the site?
The site hosts most types of legislation, but it does not claim to hold every single historical item.
Can I reuse the content found on this site?
Most content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0, allowing for broad reuse.
Does it include EU legislation?
Yes, it provides access to legislation originating from the EU, often in the context of how it has been amended by the UK.
  • Search Legislation
  • Welcome
  • United Kingdom
  • Scotland
  • Wales
  • Northern Ireland
  • Legislation originating from the EU
  • New Legislation
  • Legislation published recently
  • Legislation published on 31st July 2026

Section headings detected on the page.

Original title
Legislation.gov.uk
Original description
The official home of UK legislation, revised and as enacted 1267-present. This website is managed by The National Archives on behalf of HM Government. Publishing all UK legislation is a core part of the remit of His Majesty’s Stationery Office (HMSO), part of The National Archives, and the Office of the King's Printer for Scotland.
Reading time
~3 min · 569 words
Language
en
Mobile-friendly
Yes
Indexable
Yes
jQueryGoogle Tag ManagerApache
Secure (HTTPS)
Yes · HSTS
HTTP status
200 OK
Server
Apache
Page size
5 KB
Load time
225 ms
Resolved URL
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/
Scanned
2026-08-02 07:41:35
76
Performance
98
Accessibility
100
Best practices
92
SEO
First Contentful Paint
3.5 s
Poor
Largest Contentful Paint
4.7 s
Poor
Total Blocking Time
0 ms
Good
Visual Stability (CLS)
0.04
Good

Lab data from Google Lighthouse via the PageSpeed Insights API (mobile) · tested Aug 2, 2026. Scores can vary between runs.

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