Front of British Museum during the day

Governance

The Museum's aim is to hold a collection representative of world cultures and to ensure that the collection is housed in safety, conserved, curated, researched and exhibited.

We're committed to ensuring the Museum is run in an open and honest way. The processes and policies by which the Museum is governed are publicly available, as are many documents outlining developments, plans and priorities.

Please note that due to COVID-19, the Museum’s on-site administrative and management functions remain partially closed. Accordingly, we are not able to receive post in the usual way, and remote access arrangements are limited. Any communications will not be deemed received or served for official or unofficial purposes during this time and the Museum excludes any responsibility or liability for the same.

Other queries and communications can be sent to the Museum electronically, however, due to the exceptional circumstances caused by COVID-19, we may take longer than usual to respond, and may not at present have the ability to address the full range of Museum issues. Any response timelines stated on the website may therefore be subject to change without notice. Thank you for your patience and support during this uncertain time.

The Museum's story

The British Museum is unique in bringing together under one roof, the cultures of the world, spanning continents and oceans. Discover more about the history, architecture, people and acquisitions that have shaped the Museum.

Governance

Access to information about the British Museum

Enquiries and feedback handling procedure

The British Museum welcomes questions and values opinions and comments from visitors and members of the public. In order to constantly improve the experience of our visitors and the service we offer, we pay close attention to the feedback and enquiries we receive. These messages are reported on a monthly basis and inform decisions taken around the Museum. All the enquiries and feedback addressed to the British Museum will be handled with security and confidentiality. Public enquiries and feedback records are kept for up to two years. Beyond this, an anonymised log will be kept in the form of monthly reports and anonymised data sets.

Here are some ways you can get in touch:

Email info@britishmuseum.org
We aim to respond to emails within seven to ten working days.

Leave a review or direct message us at facebook.com/britishmuseum
We aim to respond to messages within five working days.

Tweet us @britishmuseum
We aim to respond within two working days.

Write to us
The British Museum
Great Russell Street
London WC1B 3DG

We aim to respond to letters within 20 working days of receipt.

Written feedback is preferred to ensure accurate record-keeping. However, you also have the option to leave a voicemail message by calling +44 (0)20 7323 8750. If contact details are provided, we aim to respond to voicemail messages within 10 working days. Please note that only written feedback can be formally escalated.

If your message is of a particularly complex or sensitive nature it may need to be escalated or shared with another department or more senior member of staff to investigate and develop an appropriate response. If this is likely to take longer, this will be communicated to you as early as possible.

This procedure works alongside the British Museum visitor regulations. We expect visitors to be patient and considerate, and won't tolerate any abuse to any member of staff in any form.

Please note that the British Museum is not able to consider and reserves the right not to investigate and respond to the following:

  • Object valuation requests and sale offers
  • Speculative applications for jobs, internships and work experience
  • Any matter which is the subject of any legal dispute or legal proceedings
  • Any enquiry or feedback containing abusive language
  • Enquiries and feedback which don't comply with the British Museum Social media code of conduct
  • Enquiries and feedback causing unacceptable levels of stress for staff and using disproportionate resources
  • Feedback which is considered to have no basis or genuine substance
  • Ongoing correspondence which is repeated and vexatious

We reserve the right to update this list at any time.

If you feel your message hasn't been addressed properly or within a reasonable time frame, please let us know. This will be reviewed by another manager who will determine whether further investigation or escalation is required and respond accordingly. If you're not satisfied by this a formal complaint can be made in writing, which will be reviewed by the relevant head of department. If considered appropriate, a final attempt will be made to provide a satisfactory response. If you remain dissatisfied, you'll be advised to contact the Office of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman:

Helpline: +44 (0)345 015 4033.
More information is available at ombudsman.org.uk.
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