GOV.UK

For Published

Anyone living in the UK, British citizens abroad, and people abroad who want to do business in or travel to the UK

Problem Our reading

People need to find the right government information and complete tasks without knowing which department runs what.

Promise Observed

The best place to find government services and information.

Mission Published

Help people find what they need from government and complete tasks using government services.

Proof behind each pillar

• Trusted and recognisable. GOV.UK launched in 2012.
• Help people do what they need. The homepage opens with six popular tasks and 16 service topics (observed 2026-10-31).
• Plain English for everyone. 1 in 6 adults in England have very poor literacy skills (cited in the GOV.UK writing guidelines).
• Plain English for everyone. 80% of people preferred sentences written in clear English in research on legal documents (cited by GOV.UK).
• Accessible by default. Colour contrast must meet WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.3 level AA.

Story Published

Launched in 2012, GOV.UK replaced hundreds of government websites with one. In 2025 the brand evolved: the header turned Primary blue, the dot in the wordmark rose and turned teal, and a motion language around the dot was added for the app and social.

Values

Category. Government services and information platform (web, app, wallet) Published

Why them

1. One domain for all of government, recognised since 2012. Published
2. Plain English mandatory across every page. Published
3. An accessibility-first palette and type scale tested for readability. Published
4. Its own typeface descended from UK road signs. Published

Instead of

Individual department websites and unofficial third-party sites (GOV.UK replaced the former).

Boilerplate Published

GOV.UK has been the single home of UK government online since 2012. Its brand was refreshed in June 2025 so it can work beyond the website, in the GOV.UK app, GOV.UK Wallet and social media, while keeping its recognisable, trusted foundations.

Taglines

They never claim

• The crown and royal arms are Crown copyright and restricted; a kit borrower never uses them. Published
• GDS Transport is for GOV.UK and service.gov.uk only; services elsewhere must use another typeface. Published
• Never imply government endorsement. Our reading

No slogans: the homepage leads with one claim ("the best place to find government services and information") and then lists tasks. Every heading is the name of a task or topic; every description is one plain line.

Source: gov.ukbrand.design-system.service.gov.uk/introductionguidance.publishing.service.gov.uk/writing-to-gov-uk-standards/style-guides/a-to-z-style-guide

• Sentence case headlines
• British spelling
• Write as “we”, to “you”
• Sentences of 25 words or fewer
• No exclamation marks
• Never: can't, don't, won't, should've, could've, would've. Say cannot, do not
• Never: please, please note. Say give the instruction directly
• Never: &. Say and
• Say “buy”, not “purchase”
• Say “help”, not “assist”
• Say “about”, not “approximately”
• Say “work with”, not “collaborate”
• No more than 5 sentences per paragraph; split sentences over 25 words
• Active voice: "You need an electronic travel authorisation", not "...is needed"
• "must" for legal requirements, "need" for process steps, "can" for options
• No block capitals for large amounts of text; it reads as shouting
• Numerals for all numbers (including 2 to 9) except "one" and common expressions; commas over 999; % sign
• Dates as 4 June 2017; ranges with "to", not dashes; times as 5:30pm, 10am to 11am
• £75 not £75.00; pence written out
• Page titles 65 characters or less, front-loaded, no full stop, not questions, no dashes or slashes
• Bullets need a lead-in line, start lower case, one sentence each, no full stop after the last
• Avoid buzzwords such as deliver (abstract), empower, facilitate, focus, combat, deploy, agenda
• Single quotes for unusual terms and interface labels; double quotes only for direct speech

SpecificInformativeClear and conciseBrisk, not terseSerious, not pompous

GOV.UK publishes its tone of voice as a short list: specific, informative, clear and concise, brisk but not terse, incisive but human, serious but not pompous, emotionless. Plain English is mandatory, with a large A to Z style guide behind it.

• Address the user as "you"
• Active voice
• Up to 25 words a sentence, 5 sentences a paragraph
• No negative contractions
• No "please"
• "must" / "need" / "can" by how binding it is

• The published tone of voice: specific, informative, clear and concise, brisk but not terse, incisive but human, serious but not pompous, emotionless.
• Write conversationally, as if talking one-to-one, with the authority of someone who can actively help.
• Plain English is mandatory for all of GOV.UK, including for specialists.
• Address the user as "you"; use "we" only once the organisation has been named.
• Web is the "inform" end of the brand's inform-to-inspire scale; app and social can be more expressive.

Source: guidance.publishing.service.gov.uk/writing-to-gov-uk-standards/writing-guidelines/right-tonebrand.design-system.service.gov.uk/introduction

Source: guidance.publishing.service.gov.uk/writing-to-gov-uk-standards/writing-guidelines/right-toneguidance.publishing.service.gov.uk/writing-to-gov-uk-standards/writing-guidelines/clear-languageguidance.publishing.service.gov.uk/writing-to-gov-uk-standards/style-guides/a-to-z-style-guide

Two elements: the wordmark (primary identifier) and the crown (supporting trust mark). On web they are locked up, crown left of the wordmark. The redrawn wordmark raises the dot to the vertical middle and colours it Accent teal on blue.

Source: brand.design-system.service.gov.uk/logo-systembrand.design-system.service.gov.uk/logo-system/logo-elementsbrand.design-system.service.gov.uk/logo-system/webbrand.design-system.service.gov.uk/logo-system/brand-hierarchy

GOV.UK is a blue brand: Primary blue #1D70B8 and Accent teal #00FFE0 lead every channel. A four-tier palette (primary, tints, shades, accents) covers blues, greens, teals, purples, magentas, reds, oranges, yellows, browns and neutrals, plus functional colours (text, links, border, focus, error, success).

Not published: colour proportions.

Source: brand.design-system.service.gov.uk/colourbrand.design-system.service.gov.uk/colour/govuk-bluebrand.design-system.service.gov.uk/colour/webdesign-system.service.gov.uk/styles/colour

One typeface, GDS Transport, in two weights (light and bold), based on the 1960s Transport road-sign face by Jock Kinneir and Margaret Calvert and adapted by GDS in 2012. The Design System type scale uses line heights in multiples of 5px and enlarges small-screen text from Frontend v6.

Source: brand.design-system.service.gov.uk/typographybrand.design-system.service.gov.uk/typography/webdesign-system.service.gov.uk/styles/typefacedesign-system.service.gov.uk/styles/type-scale

The dot is the one graphic device: a teal circle that guides, highlights (stretching into a lozenge behind a word), informs (growing with a statistic) and illustrates (drawing circle-based icons). On the web homepage the signature elements are functional: the solid blue block, 4px blue section rules, underlined bold links, pale-blue arrow circles and CSS chevrons.

Source: brand.design-system.service.gov.uk/graphic-devicebrand.design-system.service.gov.uk/graphic-device/expressionbrand.design-system.service.gov.uk/graphic-device/dot-use-examples

The Design System says avoid icons in most cases; when used, give a visible text label and never let one icon mean two things. The homepage uses only a magnifier, a right arrow in a pale blue circle and a CSS chevron.

Source: design-system.service.gov.uk/styles/imagesgov.uk

Illustrations simplify something complex (scanning a passport, finding a reference number). Flat blocks of the GOV.UK palette, few elements, consistent line widths and radii; avoid people, and if shown, show diversity. The brand adds circle-built animated illustrations around the dot for app and social.

Source: design-system.service.gov.uk/styles/imagesbrand.design-system.service.gov.uk/graphic-device/dot-use-examples

Use photography only when a lifelike representation matters (for example a preview of an uploaded document). The homepage has no photography. Social uses real people (an influencer or presenter) in thumbnails.

Source: design-system.service.gov.uk/styles/imagesbrand.design-system.service.gov.uk/graphic-device/dot-use-examples

Motion belongs to the dot: wordmark and crown reveals, the splash-screen spiral of coloured dots, and dot behaviours (guides, navigates, highlights, informs, transitions, illustrates). Social end frames share the app splash motion. Durations and easing are not published. The web homepage does not animate.

Source: brand.design-system.service.gov.uk/graphic-device/expressionbrand.design-system.service.gov.uk/graphic-device/dot-use-examplesbrand.design-system.service.gov.uk/logo-system/logo-elements