How to Join
Joining is simple as DALHS is part of the County Archive Research Network (CARN). CARN is a national scheme, which provides access to archives across England and Wales and is valid for 4 years, so tickets issued by other offices can be used here. Just bring your reader’s ticket along to get started. If you do not have a ticket, we can sign you up when you arrive.
Getting a ticket is easy and it won't cost you anything; all you need is two forms of identification:
One which gives your current address (e.g. driving license; benefit book or utility bill) and
Another which has your signature (e.g. credit card).
A passport does not provide proof of address. If you do not have the correct ID when you visit us, we will not be able to issue you with a CARN ticket; however, we will issue you with a temporary ticket for a single day. It will be necessary to acquire a CARN ticket if you intend to use the archive more frequently.
If your ticket has expired, it is possible to renew your CARN ticket on your next visit. To do so, just follow the process for getting a ticket by bringing along two forms of identification showing your name, address and signature. If you change your address and need to update your details, the same process applies – just make sure you have something with your new address on it!
Participating CARN Offices
The CARN network operates throughout England and Wales and your ticket is valid at
any of the following offices:
Name of Office/Branch | Ticket No Prefix | Name of Office/Branch | Ticket No Prefix |
| Anglesey/Ynys Môn | 33 | Kent, Maidstone | 11M |
| Berkshire | 1 | Kent, Strood (Medway) | 11S |
| Birmingham | 22 | Lancashire | 12 |
| Buckinghamshire | 2 | Leicestershire | 29 |
| Bury | 35 | Lincolnshire | 52 |
| Cambridgeshire, Cambridge | 3 | Norfolk | 15 |
| Cambridgeshire, Huntingdon | 3 | Northamptonshire | 47 |
| Ceredigion | 34 | Nottinghamshire | 16 |
| Cheshire | 36 | Oxfordshire | 21 |
| Conwy | 49 | Plymouth & West Devon | 39 |
| Cornwall | 5 | Portsmouth | 26 |
| Coventry | 32 | Powys | 31 |
| Cumbria, Barrow in Furness | 6B | Sandwell | 57 |
| Cumbria, Carlisle | 6C | Somerset | 28 |
| Cumbria, Kendal | 6K | Southampton | 44 |
| Cumbria, Whitehaven | 6W | Suffolk, Bury St Edmunds | 17B |
| Denbighshire | 23R | Suffolk, Ipswich | 17I |
| Devon, Barnstaple | 38 | Suffolk, Lowestoft | 17L |
| Devon, Exeter | 38 | Surrey | 30 |
| Dorset | 48 | Sussex, East | 18 |
| Dudley | 43 | Sussex, West | 27 |
| Essex, Chelmsford | 7 | Teesside | 4 |
| Essex, Colchester | 7C | Tyne & Wear | 51 |
| Essex, Southend | 7S | Walsall | 46 |
| Flintshire | 23H | Warwickshire | 45 |
| Gloucestershire | 10 | Wolverhampton | 13 |
| Greater Manchester | 14 | Worcestershire, County Hall | 41A |
| Gwent | 8 | Worcestershire, Trinity Street | 41B |
| Gwynedd, Caernarfon | 24 | Wrexham | 45W |
| Gwynedd, Dolgellau | 24 | Yorkshire, East Riding | 50 |
| Hampshire | 9 | Yorkshire, North | 53 |
| Herefordshire | 40 | Yorkshire West, Bradford | 56B |
| Hertfordshire | 20 | Yorkshire West, Calderdale | 56C |
| Hull | 58 | Yorkshire West, Kirklees | 56K |
| Isle of Wight | 25 | Yorkshire West, Leeds | 56L |
| Kent, Canterbury | 11C | Yorkshire West, Wakefield | 56W |
| Kent, Dover | 11D | | |
