How to access the National Record Locator

Read our data sharing agreement, access the NRL access acceptance form, plus supporting guidance.

Data Sharing Agreement for the National Record Locator

Updated April 2026

To become a user of the National Record Locator (NRL), an organisation must either directly accept the NRL Data Sharing Agreement (DSA) or be party to the NRL DSA via their authorising organisation (usually their integrated care board or Connected Care Record host body).

ARTICLE

Guidance and acceptance form for National Record Locator access

We ask all organisations wishing to use the National Record Locator Service (NRLS) to acknowledge that they are happy to agree with the terms set out in the Data Sharing Agreement (DSA).

Their Electronic Patient Record (EPR) supplier must also sign a connection agreement with NHS England.

ARTICLE

View an example supplier connection agreement

This is an example. Your connection agreement will be available through our customer portal.

Common topics

Accepting the DSA

The NRL DSA can be accepted by any member of staff with authority to do so. We suggest your:

chief executive
senior information risk owner (SIRO), or deputy SIRO
chief medical officer
Caldicott Guardian
chief clinical information officer
chief information officer

For Connected Care Records (ConCrs) the authorised representative may be from the NHS body with designated authority, usually the host body for the ConCr or the ICB.

Concerns about access by another Consumer

There is no basis on which you would be able to take direct action against a non-employee. Therefore, if you have concerns about access by another Consumer, you should raise these with the employing organisation, as set out in the DSA.

Last edited: 2 April 2026 11:31 am