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Data Access Request Service (DARS) products and services

The NHS England Data Access Request Service (DARS) is the gateway to request access to a range of different data access services. DARS serves a wide range of users who request access to NHS health and social care data for secondary use purposes including research and commissioning. To understand more make an enquiry. 

Page contents

Data available from the Data Access Request Service is for research, planning, and commissioning can be broadly categorised into three main data areas. 

Activity data
Activity data

Includes data about the health care treatment for individuals throughout all services of the NHS from acute care, outpatient, mental health, to prescribing.  Data from patient health and adult social care records can help improve individual care, speed up diagnosis, plan local services and research new treatments.​

Demographic data
Demographic data

Information that describes the characteristics of the population. It includes details such as age, gender, ethnicity, geographic location. 

The purpose of the use of demographic data is to help businesses, researchers and policymakers understand different groups of people for public planning, healthcare, and social studies to identify trends and make informed decisions.

Reference data
Reference data

Is largely embedded in all our data products such as LSOA mappings or electoral boundary codes

Services to access data

DARS enables requests to access data to be matched to the best available service(s) to access data to meet their needs. 

The default method for access to data will be the Secure Data Environment an extract will only be considered in exceptional circumstances. For clinical trials you may also want to use the DigiTrials Service which can also provide access to this data. 

NHS England is committed to only releasing patient and service user data to those who have a genuine need for it and can demonstrate this to an independent oversight panel.

Below are the data sets and metadata available through the DARS service. The data set catalogue also contains information about the services to access data available for each data set.  

Data set catalogue

Data sets readily available to request through DARS

DARS data sets
Data not included

Due to the differences in the cohorts used to create publications versus those in the available data, it may not be possible to reproduce results from official statistical publications using data under an NHS England data sharing agreement.

Future products available via DARS

The table below highlights new and upcoming products that are currently being onboarded. It provides a brief description of each dataset and outlines their current status. This information is shared to offer early visibility of forthcoming products that will become available through our services, helping users understand what data is being prepared for future access.

 

Product name Product description Status Date updated
Trauma Audit and Research Network (TARN) data set This is a historic data set which holds data from 2007 - 2023 and defined as serious injuries that could result in death or a life-changing disability. Being onboarded 28 April 2026
National Disease Registration Service (NDRS)
Cancer consolidated data set uplift to include:
  • Cancer Pathways
  • Systematic Anti-Cancer Therapy (SACT)
 This consolidated data set includes a data uplift of Cancer Pathways and addition of Systematic Anti-Cancer Therapy as part of the consolidated product. Being onboarded 28 April 2026

Please note that exact release dates cannot be disclosed due to constraints on resource and availability during the onboarding process of these products.

Contact us

If you have any queries that are not answered by the online resources listed for each data set, please contact the data applications team.

Email: [email protected] 

Phone: 0300 303 5678

Last edited: 14 May 2026 9:51 am