Guidance

GOV.UK proposition

Updated 8 December 2023

If you work for a government organisation or agency, you must follow the guidance in the GOV.UK proposition when you publish content or services. The proposition tells you what must go on GOV.UK and what must not. It is designed to ensure GOV.UK remains the single, trusted source of official government information. 

The Government Digital Service (GDS) regularly reviews the proposition to reflect the changing requirements of both users and government departments and it manages an exemptions process to assure requests to create additional websites. The Director of Publishing is accountable for the proposition, with oversight from the Digital and Data Board.

Who and what GOV.UK is for

GOV.UK exists to meet the needs of:

• UK citizens and residents who need information or a service to complete a task
• UK businesses that need to comply with their responsibilities
• anyone who wants to visit, live in, or do business with, the UK

GOV.UK is the official source of government information. It is impartial so that people can trust the content they find. GOV.UK includes services, information and guidance that only government can provide. It’s designed so that users do not need to understand the complex structures of government in order to complete their task. Its content and design is user-centred so that interacting with government is accessible to everybody.

Content and services are continually improved to meet user needs.

What the GOV.UK proposition covers

The GOV.UK proposition applies to the following channels and domains.

The website, including:

• www.gov.uk - the publishing platform for government
• service.gov.uk - for government services
• campaign.gov.uk - for government campaigns
• api.gov.uk - for government APIs
• blog.gov.uk - for government blogs
• data.gov.uk - for publishing government data sets, for example government spending
• independent.gov.uk - for independent inquiries set up by the government, for example the Independent Commission for Aid Impact

The app, including:

• the forthcoming GOV.UK app
• app notifications

Social media, including GOV.UK social media channels such as X/Twitter.

What must go on GOV.UK

All content and products that are owned by government must go on GOV.UK and meet a proven user need.

Some content and services involve policies managed by more than one government department. You must consult these stakeholders if this applies to you. If the user journey is complex or a priority to government then contact the GDS GOV.UK Content team. They’ll help you coordinate the user journey.

Your content must help users do one of the following:

• use a government service
• understand policy for a specific sector
• find out about a government policy
• understand the government’s response to a major event
• follow the law
• apply for a government support scheme
• find out what business opportunities are available
• understand the government’s priorities through a campaign

1. Use a government service

A government service must be something that can only be done with government, for example:

• taxing your vehicle
• applying for a passport
• booking a prison visit

A service can also help the user find out something specific to their situation without submitting their details to government. This is called a non-transactional service. For example, you can check:

• how much you could get in benefits and financial support
• how to get married in another country
• the risks of travelling to another country

2. Understand policy for a specific sector

Guidance for a specialist audience must explain government policy and what the user needs to do to comply. This could be about:

• applying for a permit for using, treating, storing and disposing of waste
• how employers can use Basic PAYE Tools (BPT)

3. Find out about a government policy

Government policies must be accessible to the public. Your content must give users the information they need about a government policy in a transparent, clear and understandable way.

This could be about:

• government spending
• how departments work
• what a government department is working on
• how a policy is implemented
• how users respond to a policy (through consultations)
• tax rates in past years to help tax advisers give their clients accurate guidance

4. Understand the government’s response to major events

Your content allows users to find out what the government is doing about major events that impact the public or have significant public interest.

This could be what actions the government is taking about:

• the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic
• the UK leaving the EU (Brexit)

5. Follow the law

Your content helps businesses and members of the public to follow the law, for example by:

• completing a Self Assessment tax return
• filing their company’s accounts and tax returns
• helping them find out what import duty they need to pay on different items

6. Apply for a government support scheme

Your content helps users get sector-specific government support. This could be applying for:

• help with the costs of starting a business
• support for students in higher education who are on a low income
• help with the costs of buying a home

7. Find out what business opportunities are available

Your content or service helps businesses take advantage of opportunities that are available to them. For example:

• trade opportunities for exporters
• getting funding for a business idea in the UK or another country

8. Understand the government’s priorities through a campaign

Campaigns help government raise the public’s awareness about something important, like coronavirus. The GOV.UK campaign platform is for campaigns about a government priority issue. You must follow the campaigns standards and guidelines if you’re creating a campaign.

What does not go on GOV.UK

Your content or service must not go on GOV.UK if it:

• is from an organisation that is not part of central government
• advertises or gives commercial advantage to an organisation
• gives advice that a non-governmental organisation is better placed to do
• is party political content
• is for internal work management or better placed on departmental intranets
• is only relevant to devolved administrations
• duplicates other content or services on GOV.UK

1. Content and services from an organisation that is not part of central government

Content and services that are not part of central government and must not go on GOV.UK include:

• the National Health Service (NHS)
• the emergency services
• the judiciary
• the armed forces
• academic institutions with ac.uk domains
• organisations and companies, like mutuals, that are not publicly owned
• sites and services from non-government third parties, for example support forums

2. Advertises or gives commercial advantage to an organisation

GOV.UK does not contain content, advertising or services which promote a company or organisation in any way.

3. Gives advice that a non-governmental organisation is better placed to do

GOV.UK tells users what they need to know in order to complete a task or follow the law. It does not offer advice on what the user should do. The exception to this is if users need advice in order to complete their task. This could be, for example, advice about safety and security when travelling to a country with an unstable political situation.

Where a non-governmental organisation is better placed to meet the user need you should link to the external website instead of putting the content on GOV.UK.

4. Party political content

Content on GOV.UK must not promote the interests, activities or views of a political party.

5. Internal work management or better placed on departmental intranets

If your content is only for civil or crown servants to manage their work then it must not go on GOV.UK.

6. Content for devolved nations

If your content only applies to users in a devolved nation then it must go on the website of the devolved administration instead of GOV.UK. The devolved administration sites are:

• gov.scot
• gov.wales
• nidirect.gov.uk

If your content applies to England or the UK and there are different rules in the devolved nations, it can go on GOV.UK but you must link to the relevant content on the devolved administration website.

7. Content duplicates other content or services

Your content or service cannot go on GOV.UK if there is already content or a service on GOV.UK that meets the same user needs. If you have evidence that the published content is not meeting these needs you can raise a request with GDS to improve the content.

GOV.UK exemptions

There may be instances where independence from GOV.UK is the best way to serve user needs, for example where association with central government may stop users engaging with content. You can apply for an exemption if you have evidence that user needs can be better met on a website other than GOV.UK.

Get help

Ask the GDS GOV.UK Content team if you need help deciding if something should be published on GOV.UK.

If you have questions about the proposition, email the GOV.UK Policy and Strategy team at govuk-enquiries@digital.cabinet-office.gov.uk.

You can read more about planning, managing and publishing content on GOV.UK.