• What are the benefits
• How can I prepare for Accreditation
• How do I apply
• When do I apply
• What is a Registered Museum
• What if we are not ready
• Who assesses the applications
• Once we have achieved Accreditation
• Advice and Support
• Resources and information
• The Accreditation Development Project

What is Accreditation?

Accreditation is a set of national standards for UK museums. To achieve these standards museums must meet published requirements in how they care for and document their collections, how they are governed and managed, and on the information and services they offer to their users.

Accreditation is open to all museums that meet the 1998 Museum Association definition of a museum:

“Museums enable people to explore collections for inspiration, learning and enjoyment. They are institutions that collect, safeguard and make accessible artefacts and specimens, which they hold in trust for society.”

The Accreditation scheme is administered by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA), in partnership with Museums Galleries Scotland, Northern Ireland Museums Council and CyMAL

Key Accreditation documents

All of these documents are available to download from MLA’s website – click What We Do, then Raising Standards, followed by Accreditation Scheme.

• The 2004 Accreditation Standard
• MLA's Acquisition and Disposal Policy model template, created in April 2008.
• For museums without a museum professional, Working with your Curatorial Adviser.

You’ll find more information about the Scheme, and answers to common questions, in this section.