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Department of the Hong Kong government

Government Records Service (GRS) is the central records management service agency of the Hong Kong Government. It aims to be the most insightful, resourceful and leading public archives in Hong Kong. The department is subordinate to the Administration Wing of the Office of the Chief Secretary for Administration. The agency incorporates the Public Records Office (PRO, 歷史檔案館), which is the designated archives to preserve and make accessible the archival records of the HKSAR Government. As of 2022, the office is the custodian of over 1.7 million archival holdings in various media and formats. under the Home Affairs and Information Branch of the Colonial Secretariat, following discussions within the government on devising a system to preserve and dispose of government records. Ian Diamond, an Australian archivist who was previously involved in setting up the National Archives of Fiji, was appointed as the Government Archivist and was tasked with the herculean task of setting up the office from scratch, in a city where archives were hitherto non existent. The Legislative Council's information policy panel voted overwhelmingly against the move in 1993, but the relocation nevertheless proceeded on 20 July 1995. The authorities relented in October 1994 and announced to the legislators that a site in Kwun Tong has been identified for the construction of a purpose built public records building. Work commenced on the building in January 1996 and was completed by June 1997; the Hong Kong Public Records Building was officially opened by Chief Secretary Anson Chan on 19 June 1997.

As a government agency, the Government Records Service Division was established on 1 September 1989 following a review on government records management by the former Constitutional Affairs Branch. The Public Records Office was placed under the division together with the Government Records Co ordination Unit (GRCU), which was formed under the Office of the Deputy Chief Secretary to implement records management regimes in the government.

As of 2022, the Public Records Office is home to 1,707,700 archival holdings, adding up to about 23,026 linear metres. As at the end of December 2017, it preserved around 43,400 publications. These index cards were compiled by the Reverend Carl Thurman Smith (1918–2008) throughout his 25 years of intensive research into PRO holdings, newspapers and publications. As of 2008, the Carl Smith Collection was the most frequently used part of the PRO's holdings.

Members of the public may inspect the holdings of the PRO by paying a visit to the Search Room in the Hong Kong Public Records Building. They may register for a free reader's account and order records on “@PRO”, the online catalogue of the GRS. Prior to the COVID 19 pandemic in Hong Kong, both walk ins and reservations for inspecting records were accepted, but the PRO now requires readers to make a reservation in advance. Public access to archival records held by the PRO is governed by the Public Records (Access) Rules 1996, which establishes that the public are able to gain access to most records that have been closed for over 30 years. Apart from records that have not reach the 30 year limit, records containing personal data and classified records that are awaiting transferring agencies' confirmation of their access status might also be counted as exceptions from the limit and continue to be closed thereafter. Nevertheless, members of the public may apply to view closed records, in which case the PRO would consult the transferring agency to ascertain if the request should be granted. A small part of the PRO's collections is also digitised and placed on the GRS website.

Home to the Government Records Service, the Hong Kong Public Records Building is located in Kwun Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It was opened in 1997. The building is accessible within walking distance from Kwun Tong station of MTR. It was the first purpose built archival facility in Hong Kong. It has public areas including a large working reference room, an exhibition hall and a search room equipped with computers for access to the extensive archival collection. Apart from the main facility in Kwun Tong, the Government Records Service also operates two record centres, namely Tuen Mun Records Centre and YKK Records Centre, in Tuen Mun. The remote facilities are where inactive records are stored on behalf of government bureaux and departments.