Using registers to build a service
How you can use registers to build better digital services.
You can use a register to get access to up-to-date and accurate data when you’re building a service.
Most registers are classified as ‘open’. This means the data within them can be accessed, copied and used freely by anyone. You can choose to use all or some of the data in the register.
You can use the data to create features for forms. For example, the UK government and Parliament petitions service uses the country register to populate a drop-down menu from which users can select their location.
How registers are kept up to date
Each register is managed by one person from the organisation that’s responsible for the data within it. This person is known as the custodian.
As they’re responsible for looking after the register, you can be confident that the data you’re using to build your service is current.
Using registers to build services is more reliable than using other sources of information, which might be out of date or at risk of being unpublished at any time.
How registers work
Each register is made up of records. Each record is made up of ‘fields’ and ‘values’. For example, in the country register the record for Estonia has a field called ‘official-name’. The value of this field is ‘The Republic of Estonia’.
Fields and values aren’t specific to just one register. They can be used across several registers, regardless of which organisation manages them.
This stops information being duplicated across registers. It also means registers can be easily linked to each other, which can help if you need access to data from more than one organisation to build your service.
When any of the information in a register changes, a new ‘entry’ is added to the record.
The most recent entry is shown as the current version of the record. Older entries are also kept as part of the record to show when it was changed.
Registers you can use
Check our registers collection to find out which registers are ready to use. You can see what’s currently in progress, or search them all for a register you might want for your service.
How to use a register
There are 2 ways to use registers. You can either:
- use an application programming interface (API) to automatically pull data from a register into your service
- periodically download the data from the register’s homepage and keep and update your own copy of it
Help using registers
Contact the registers team at GDS if you need help using a register.
Last updated 19 December 2016 + show all updates
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Updated the list of registers that are now in beta with a link to the territory register.
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First published.