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Attachments

Prepare official documents

Official documents are types of papers that are laid before (presented to) Parliament. These include:

  • command papers
  • House of Commons papers
  • unnumbered act papers
Note:

Find out more about these different document types in guidance on official documents from the National Archives. They call them ‘parliamentary papers’ rather than official documents, but they’re the same thing.

You should create and attach HTML and ‘web’ and ‘print’ PDF/A versions of these documents. For help with that, read the guidance on planning ‘web-optimised’ and ‘print-ready’ papers from the National Archives.

Create a new official document

All versions of official documents must contain the:

  • title
  • copyright owner (HTML versions are Crown copyright unless you state otherwise, for example: ‘© Financial Conduct Authority’)
  • ISBN reference

You’ll need to add additional details to the document depending on what type of official document they are.

Command papers

Command papers must also have:

  • a statement to explain how the paper was presented to Parliament, such as: ‘Presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for Transport by Command of His Majesty’
  • the month and year the paper was laid before Parliament
  • the Command Paper number (CP)

See an example of a command paper.

House of Commons papers

House of Commons papers must also have:

  • a statement to explain how the paper was presented to the House of Commons, such as: ‘Presented to the House of Commons pursuant to section 7 of the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000’
  • the date is was ordered to be printed, such as: ‘Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed on 12 October 2018’
  • the House of Commons number (HC XXXX)

See an example of a House of Commons paper.

Unnumbered act papers

Unnumbered act papers must also have a statement to explain how the paper was presented to Parliament, such as: ‘Presented to Parliament pursuant to section 7 of the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000’.

See an example of an unnumbered act paper.

Update already published official documents

If you need to update the document after it’s been published, add a ‘correction slip’:

  • before the contents page, in PDF versions
  • at the top of the document, in HTML versions

Read the guidance on correction slips from the National Archives for templates and further instructions.

Upload the official documents

When each version of the official document is ready, add them as attachments to the same publication content type.

Read the guidance on the publication content type for instructions, including how to fill in special fields when uploading official documents.

If you’re updating a document that’s already been published, write a public change note to explain the updates you’ve made.