ATS Service Records: How to Get a WW2 ATS File (2026)

ATS WW2 service records for women born before 1940 are now at The National Archives, not the Ministry of Defence. Search Discovery for series WO 440. If her file is not in the catalogue yet, and most are not, use the Request a military service record service. The Standard copy costs £42.25 as a colour PDF.

Key facts

Who holds them: The National Archives, for women born before 1 January 1940
Other ranks: Series WO 440, ATS and WRAC service records, 1939-1963
On the catalogue yet?: Most are not. If you cannot find her, request a search
Standard copy: £42.25 as a PDF, £47.16 on paper
Full record check: £48.87, plus £1.04 per page released
Officers: Not in WO 440. Use the Full record check

Fees in force since 2 February 2026. Checked against The National Archives, GOV.UK, the Imperial War Museums and the National Army Museum on 10 November 2026.

That is the same paid service used for Army other ranks. It is not the free MOD route still used for the Navy.

What was the ATS?

The Auxiliary Territorial Service was formed in September 1938. The National Army Museum says it was granted full military status from April 1941, though its members were still not allowed to undertake combat roles. From December 1941, women were conscripted. The Imperial War Museums says they could choose war work in industry or one of the auxiliary services: the ATS, the WAAF or the WRNS.

Two official facts are worth knowing before you search:

All women conscripted into the British Army, except nurses, found themselves in the ATS. That is The National Archives’ own wording, in the description of WO 440. Nurses joined Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service instead.
It was the largest of the women’s services. The Imperial War Museums says more than 250,000 women served in the ATS during the Second World War. The National Army Museum gives the same figure, “around 250,000”, by the end of the war.

Roles began as cooks, clerks, orderlies, storewomen and drivers, then widened. The Imperial War Museums says there were eventually over a hundred different roles, including service in anti-aircraft batteries. The National Army Museum says that by 1943 about 56,000 women were serving with anti-aircraft units, though they were still not allowed to fire the guns.

The ATS was succeeded by the Women’s Royal Army Corps in 1949. Some WRAC records, including women who had first served in the ATS, are also in WO 440.

Where are ATS service records now?

At Kew, if she was born before 1 January 1940. The records were transferred from the MOD as part of its service records project. The WO 440 series itself was received from the Ministry of Defence in 2024 and 2025.

WO 440 holds the service records of women, not officers, who served in the ATS and the WRAC, covering 1939 to 1963. The catalogue describes 289,755 files. Typical documents are:

Attestation forms, signed when she joined or when she transferred between units
A statement of service, outlining her postings
Discharge forms
Supporting correspondence

The National Archives is plain about the catch. The records have only recently been transferred, and most are “currently unfindable” in the catalogue. A failed search is normal. It does not mean the file was never kept.

The exceptions:

Born on or after 1 January 1940. Apply to the MOD through GOV.UK. There is no fee. The search can take up to a year.
Officers. WO 440 does not include them. Use the Full record check, explained below.
Nurses, or service in East Africa. A selection of records for women’s units in East Africa, including the ATS, QAIMNS, the East African Military Nursing Service, the Women’s Territorial Service and the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry, is in WO 427. Search that series by surname, service number and date of birth. ATS service in Palestine is separately listed in WO 447.

Do not confuse the ATS with the First World War Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps, later Queen Mary’s Army Auxiliary Corps, which was disbanded in 1921. Those surviving files are in WO 398.

How do you request an ATS record?

Search Discovery. Try her surname and year of birth, then her service number if you have one. Restrict the search to WO 440. The National Archives also suggests checking Ancestry, in case a transferred record has already been published online.
If you find a matching document reference, order a copy from the catalogue entry, or view an open record free in the reading room at Kew.
If you find nothing, use Request a military service record for a deceased person born before 1940. That is the route The National Archives gives in its women in the British Army guide.

You will need her full name and date of birth. A service number helps more than anything else. Place of birth and her unit or trade help if you do not have a number. Our guide to finding a WW2 service number lists the places to look, including the soldier’s pay book (AB64), which was issued to the ATS as well as to soldiers.

Proof of death

The National Archives may ask for proof of death if she was born less than 115 years ago. It accepts an official death certificate, a CWGC certificate, a published obituary, or a grant of probate with evidence of the date of birth. Upload it as a PDF, JPG, JPEG, PNG or GIF.

Standard or Full record check?

The fees are set by the Public Record Office (Fees) Regulations 2025, in force since 2 February 2026. The National Archives says the Combined (Standard) service is available for British Army non-officer records. That is the right starting point for an ATS other ranks file.

	Standard	Full record check
What you get	Key documents: attestation and statement of service forms, and related papers such as release forms.	Everything that can be released after a sensitivity check. Closed material is withheld or redacted.
Price	£42.25 digital, £47.16 paper	£48.87 up front, then £1.04 per digital page (£1.52 for some record types)
Officers	Not available	Available
Speed	Within 30 working days	Not stated

Start with Standard for other ranks. Pay for the Full record check if you need more, or if she was an officer. Medical information stays closed for 115 years from the person’s date of birth. You pay per record, not per person, and no VAT is charged.

What to read once you have the unit

The service record should give you her postings. For what the unit did, search the Army war diaries. The National Archives says all units kept a daily record of events. Search Discovery with the company or unit name, in the theatre series: WO 166 for Home Forces, WO 169 for the Middle East, WO 170 for the Central Mediterranean, WO 171 for North-West Europe, and the other series listed in our war diaries guide.

Other useful sources:

C.S. 20 medal application cards. About 1.7 million cards for soldiers and other units administered by the War Office are searchable on Forces War Records (charges apply). The National Archives’ women in the Army guide points to the same set for Second World War campaign medals.
The London Gazette, for commissions, promotions and awards. Free to search.
CWGC, if she died in service. Search it free.

Unclaimed medals can still be claimed by next of kin. See how to claim WW2 medals.

Next steps

Search WO 440, then request the Standard copy if she is not in the catalogue. Build a timeline from the statement of service, and follow each posting into the war diaries.

If she served in the WAAF or the WRNS instead, use those guides: WAAF WW2 service records and WRNS WW2 service records. For the general Army process, see WW2 Army service records. For searches that cost nothing, start with free WW2 records online.

FAQ: ATS WW2 service records

Where are ATS WW2 service records kept?

At The National Archives, for women born before 1 January 1940. Other ranks are in WO 440. The National Archives says most of these records are not yet findable in the catalogue, so if a Discovery search fails you should request a military service record.

Are ATS service records free?

Not to order. The Standard copy costs £42.25 as a digital PDF. Open records already catalogued on Discovery can be viewed free in the reading room at Kew. Records for women born on or after 1 January 1940 are still with the MOD, which charges no fee.

Do ATS records include officers?

WO 440 is for other ranks, not officers. The National Archives' Standard service is also unavailable for British Army commissioned officer requests. If she was an ATS officer, use the Full record check.

Did ATS women get a soldier's pay book?

Yes. Wartime identity guidance was addressed to soldiers and the ATS, and the National Army Museum holds an AB64 used by an ATS volunteer. See our guide to the WW2 soldier's pay book.

Are ATS records the same as WAAC records?

No. The Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, later Queen Mary's Army Auxiliary Corps, was a First World War service, disbanded in 1921. Its surviving records are in WO 398. Do not search that series for a Second World War ATS file.

What if she was a nurse, not ATS?

Nurses conscripted into the Army joined Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service, not the ATS. The National Archives also holds a selection of East African women's service records, including nurses, in WO 427.

Sources

Checked 10 November 2026.

The Wartime Attic team

We run Wartime Attic and The Attic Letters on YouTube, which tells untold human stories from history, starting with the Second World War. We write these guides from the official records, and link every fact to its source. More about us.