Scotland currently has 51 collections that have been Recognised as Nationally Significant, which are cared for by museums throughout Scotland, from Shetland to Dumfries and Galloway. The wide variety of Recognised Collections reflect centuries of effort to preserve and interpret our past, including collecting practices reflective of contemporary Scotland. Collectively, the Recognised Collections showcase the immense diversity in Scotland’s museum and galleries collections.

Read more about Scotland’s Recognised Collections.

Find out about the Recognition Scheme application process. 

Holding a Recognised Collection commits your organisation and your governing body to meeting the objectives of the scheme. The objectives were updated in January 2025 as part of the review process. 

The five Recognition Scheme objectives are: 

• To advocate for, and raise awareness and appreciation of, the Recognised Collections of National Significance, maximising their potential to celebrate Scotland’s culture and heritage – locally, nationally and internationally.
• To protect and secure the future of the Recognised Collections of National Significance by raising standards in collections care and management and increasing knowledge and understanding.
• Use the Recognised Collections of National Significance to support the sustainability of the museums that hold, care for, and exhibit them.
• To inspire and enable access to, public engagement with, and learning and research about, the Recognised Collections of National Significance.
• To support holders of Recognised Collections of National Significance to increase their contribution to the sector through ambition, collaboration, and partnership working.

Our understanding of our world and our history does not stagnate. As our ideas of what’s important and significant evolve, so will Scotland’s Recognised Collections. In 2022, South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture’s Sir Harry Lauder Museum Collection became the 51st collection to be recognised as Nationally Signification to Scotland. 

Museums Galleries Scotland has been managing the Recognition Scheme on behalf of the Scottish Government since the initiative began in 2006. 

In 2023, a major review of the Recognition Scheme was carried out. This was an acknowledgement of the age of the scheme, and the sector operating in a drastically different context since that time. There is a need for the scheme to fully represent current sector priorities, and to respond to sector challenges. The recommendations from the review were approved by the government in 2024 by the Scottish Government, and the Recognition Committee and MGS are implementing plans to address these recommendations.  The review report is published below.

Any Accredited, non-national museum can apply to the Recognition Scheme. Your application must clearly show why your collection is nationally significant and also include letters of support from researchers, staff members, academics, and other users of your collection.

You’ll have six months to complete your application, following a Note of Interest. Expert advisers are appointed to review and assess each application. Their report is used in the deliberations of the Recognition Committee to help inform their decision. 

Find out more about applying to the scheme.