The National Archives of Iceland have the role of preserving the memory of the community, which is reflected in the collection that covers centuries of Iceland’s history or the last 850 years. The key role of the museum is to ensure the preservation and collection of documents about the history of the country and nation.

The objectives of the National Archives are based on its statutory role and fall into three main areas:

• Preservation and collection: Collections reflect society at all times, are recorded according to established methods and are preserved under the best possible conditions.

• Effective access to the museums collections: The processing of inquiries and access to it's collections are efficient and the processing times are in accordance with best administrative practices.

• Research and Education: Research and Education supports the museum's administrative and cultural projects.

The role of the National Archives is to be the executor of public archives and records management and to be a public archive. The National Archives is operates under the laws on national archives.

As the executor of public archives and records management, the museum's mission is to:

• to regulate the documentation of the obligated parties

• decide on the destruction of documents

• granting operational licenses to regional archives and supervision

As a public archive, the function of the museum is:

• to accept records from the obligated parties for safe keeping

• to monitor the records keeping of the obligated parties

• provide advice and education

• have a museum collections accessible

• make decisions on access to it on a legal basis

The National Archives’ mission statement for 2022-2027 is based on the values of trust, professionalism and foresight.

The mission statement sets out goals and actions to ensure preservation and access to information with an emphasis on digital transformation, whether it is in relation to older museum collections or newer electronic records. Emphasis on sustainability is a key factor in all museum activities.

The emphasis is on digital transformative projects is the museum's contribution to the governments digital transformation journey and to ensure the preservation of important information to society.

A strategy for European archives for 2025-2030 was submitted for approval at the meeting of the National Archives in Brussels at the end of May 2024.

The European Archives Group (EAG) has developed a 10-point action plan for the next five years for the European strategy on archives.