Guinness World Records has an expertly trained Records Management Team who undertake substantial research and verification checks to confirm whether a new record title has been achieved.

When you suggest a new record title, our team will assess it to confirm whether or not your proposal can be accepted. When you submit your evidence for a new or existing title, the Records Management Team will run comprehensive checks on this evidence to confirm whether it is sufficient to demonstrate that you have achieved the record title in question.

If you are submitting an application, it is important that you provide us with as much information as possible, including:

• What you want to achieve
• How, where and why you want to achieve it
• Any links that may help our team to understand your proposal.

During the application process you will be able to search our entire database of records and find out if we already have a record matching your idea and what the target to beat is.

If your proposal for a new title is accepted, or if you are applying for an existing title, you will receive your guidelines to attempt the record.  It is important that you read these and the evidence checklist pack carefully, and document all requested evidence. This is so our team can assess all evidence provided and verify whether your attempt has been successful.

It is also important that you ask any questions well in advance of any record attempt. This is to ensure we have time to respond, as it can take up to 2 weeks for us to get back to you. If your application has been accepted, you will be able to send all correspondence via your online account directly to your records manager.

Visit our How to collect and submit evidence to get an idea of the evidence you need to provide as part of your record attempt.

You can apply for one of our 50,000 pre-exisitng titles or suggest a brand new one.

(Remember we only recognise WORLD records, no national or country specific achievements I'm afraid).

All Guinness World Records record titles must fulfill key criteria including:

1. Measurable - Is it the fastest / longest / heaviest / most?
2. Breakable - Can the record be broken or repeated by someone else? All our record titles must be open to being challenged.
3. Standardisable - Can the record title be done universally?
4. Verifiable - Can the claim be proven? For example, a claim such as ‘the man who never drank water’, can never be verified unless the man spent his whole life from birth under surveillance by a witness.
5. One Variable – We can verify the largest painting but would not consider the largest painting by the most people.
6. Substantially different from a current record - If your record suggestion is similar to something we already have, we may ask you to break the current record rather than approving a variation of the same title.

We currently hold more than 50,000 records online, so if you wish to find out if a record exists, please feel free to explore our website!

You can search here by entering keyword(s).

If you still can’t find what you’re looking for, it may be that the record you are interested in has not been updated on our website yet, is not a record that we currently monitor or currently does not exist.

We assess each and every application that we receive - but many cannot be recognised as a world record. (See: What makes a Guinness World Records title)

• We do not accept applications based on subjective measures for example - beauty, kindness, loyalty.
• Other activities that are not records include those which are not sufficiently challenging, those which are too specific to a single person or anything that is unbreakable.
• We do not endorse unsuitable activities or those which could cause potential harm or danger to spectators / animals.
• We do not permit people under the age of 16 to attempt or hold records which are considered unsuitable for minors. In these instances Guinness World Records works in association with the official regulatory body for the particular skill / sport.

As the world's unrivalled authority on record-breaking achievement, our role is to celebrate the world’s best, to inspire ordinary people and to entertain and inform. For these reasons, we do not pay record-breakers for their achievements or for carrying out a record title attempt. We are also unable to cover any expenses, offer sponsorship or provide equipment for anyone attempting a record.

In addition, we are unable to make contributions to individuals, charities or businesses. This is to maintain our unbiased stance as the world's global record breaking authority and to ensure that we are truly inclusive of all applicants.

Some of the most frequently broken records include the Longest DJ marathon, the Heaviest item lifted with glue and the Most apples bobbed in one minute! Another record that is broken regularly is the Oldest person in the world, but the oldest person ever remains Jeanne Louise Calment who lived to be an incredible 122 years and 164 days old.

While we no longer monitor who tops the overall leader board of ‘most records broken’ (as all titles we monitor are very different and require an array of skills), some of our most prolific record breakers of all time include Silvio Sabba (Italy) Ashrita Furman (USA), David Rush (USA) and André Ortolf (Germany).

There are more than 50,000 current records in our database, however due to space constraints, we can only publish around 4,000 records in the book each year which always makes it a tough decision for our editorial team and editor-in-chief!

If your record hasn't been selected for publication, there's always a chance that it may be included in future editions, or here on our official website.

For any record titles associated with large amounts of food, our Record Guidelines state that it must either be consumed or distributed for consumption after it has been measured. As with all record titles, the Record Guidelines must be adhered to in order to be considered a successful Guinness World Records title.

To enable us to continue to be a part of thousands of personal achievement journeys, we can only provide access to services such as an official adjudicator through our fee-based Consultancy service.   

Visit the business solutions section to learn more about the services they provide; if you would like to speak to a member of the Consultancy team, please select the option to Contact an Account Manager.

If you want to understand the rules for a record then you will need to get in touch. If the record you want to know about already exists then we whould be able to share them with you fairly quickly. If it's a new title suggestion then it will take a bit longer while we determine what we would need.

You can visit our guide to evidence page to get an idea of the evidence you need to provide as part of your record attempt at any time.

If you want to speak to someone about a record idea then fill out this form. Have a look at What makes a Guinness World Records title? before reaching out so you understand what goes into making you officially amazing!

Of course! There is a whole Kids Website dedicated to record-breaking for the under 16s. On that site you will find record stories, games and a whole host of records created with Kids in mind! You can find a full list of all our KIDS records there but if you have any new ideas that you think would work for people under 16 years old then fill out this form and let us know. 

Remember, if you are under the age of 13, you will need either a parent or guardian to create an account and submit the application on your behalf.

We enforce a minimum age limit of 16 years old on a number of record categories. These are typically for highly physical, dangerous or endurance based records but there are also other records we consider unsuitable for people under the age of 16. This is at Guinness World Records discretion.

If you’re under 16, and get the age restriction notice, then you’ll be unable to apply for the record. We would encourage you to apply again when you’re older though and in the meantime please search the website for other records you can attempt.

Guinness World Records does not accept any records relating to chain letters, sent by post or e-mail.

If you receive a letter or an e-mail which promises to publish the names of all those who send it on, it is not genuine.

Even if it states that Guinness World Records or the postal service are involved, we are not and no such attempt would be recognised as a world record.

We receive over 50,000 record applications a year (almost 1,000 applications every week!). To allow us to provide the best possible service to everyone, we have placed a limit of 3 applications per person during a 24 hour period.

If you have reached your limit, you will get a message on your dashboard that will tell you how long you have to wait until you can make another application.

We are temporarily unable to provide the Priority Application service and expedite applications. We hope to be able to reintroduce this service soon so keep checking back!

Our priority application and evidence review services are only available to individuals or small groups whose primary purpose for attempting a record is personal achievement.

If you are attempting a record on behalf of an organization, please contact our Consultancy division where they are included as part of a wide range of products and services to help maximise the impact of your record attempt. To find out more about how we can help, visit our Business Solutions pages.

How do I get a Receipt?

• Once you have created an application and paid, you will be able to generate a receipt.
• First, login to your Guinness World Records account.
• Select the relevant application from the Applications section of your dashboard
• Scroll down to the section called "Receipt"
• Select the link "View your receipt"
• Your receipt will then load in a new window
• From here it can be printed or downloaded as a pdf file

Please visit our Certificate FAQs on the GWR Store

Please visit our Record Holder Certificate FAQs on the GWR Store

If you have a technical question regarding the Guinness World Records website, then please contact us. Please ensure that you provide us with your registered email address, name, application ID (if applicable) and if possible, screenshots of the issues you are experiencing.

We always welcome any comments regarding our publications. These can be sent to us through the Contact Us section of the website.

Your observations will be sent to our editorial department for further investigation. We always endeavour to achieve the highest possible standards of accuracy.

We currently hold more than 1,000 records online on our website, so if you want to find out if a record already exists, then why not search our record database.

SEARCH TIPS: Hint: keywords work best (e.g."arrow blindfold" or "dog yoga"), NOT superlatives (e.g."longest", "fastest", "tallest").

If you still can’t find what you’re looking for; the record may not have been updated on our website yet, or may not exist.

If you are interested in a record that you cannot find online you will need to submit an application to find out if your idea can be accepted as a new record title.

If you need some help, then read What makes a Guinness World Records title?

We are unable to answer questions about records by phone or email and are currently unable to answer questions about records that are not published on our website.

If you have any feedback or suggestions, please get in touch.

Guinness World Records receive over 50,000 record applications a year (that's almost 1,000 applications every week!).

Due to the consistently high volume of applications we receive, the waiting times for a response to a Self-service application can take up to 20 weeks. Once we receive the evidence for your record attempt, it can take up to 20 weeks for us to review your documentation and let you know if your record attempt has been a success. (These times can vary depending on the number of applications we have so make sure to keep checking!)

If you have received notice that your application has been accepted you can then use your online account, to send us a message to enquire about your application progress. To access your online account, log in and select the relevant application and scroll to the bottom of the page to the correspondence box. Your message will be delivered directly to the Records Manager dealing with your application. (This facility is only available once your application has been accepted and your guidelines have been released to you and it can take up to 2 weeks to receive a response.)

You can also check on the status of your application, update your profile details and application information, by logging into your account.

In the unlikely event you have not received a response from us within 20 weeks of submitting your application, please contact us with your application ID, registered email address and proposed record title. Our Customer Service team will be able to look into this for you.

We are unable to respond to any postal correspondence.

All postal correspondence sent to Guinness World Records will be securely disposed of upon receipt, so please do not send any postal correspondence. If you’re getting in touch about an existing application please use the correspondence function on your application.

For anything else please browse our FAQs for an answer, or Contact us.

Due to the high volume of record attempts which occur across the world and the limited storage available for physical evidence at our offices, Guinness World Records are unable to accept evidence which has been sent via postal services. Any evidence which is sent by post will be securely disposed of upon receipt and we’re unable to return any evidence to the sender.

All evidence for a record attempt must be uploaded to your application through our website. If you are experiencing difficulties in uploading evidence please send your records manager a correspondence through your application.

Your application may have been referred to our Consultancy team which manages our paid for services. Referrals are normally made based on the complexity of the record you have chosen or the potential for you to require usage of the Guinness World Records’ brand name and assets. Our consultancy team will contact you directly to find out more about your attempt.

Guinness World Records Ltd. are headquartered in London, England. We also have regional offices in China, Dubai (UAE), New York (US) and Tokyo (Japan). We have 70 officially trained Guinness World Records adjudicators situated across 15 countries, speaking 17 languages. These countries include all our regional offices as well as Australia, Germany, India, Italy, Paraguay and Turkey.

If you would like to propose a record idea, break an existing record or receive the full guidelines and rules for a record, then fill out this form and we'll do the rest. (We are unable to provide any record specific information over the phone or email).

If you have an enquiry that has not been answered on our FAQ page, then please submit an online enquiry. We are unable to respond to postal enquiries so please do not send us any applications or record evidence via post.

If you have a question about a pending application, please log into your Guinness World Records account and send us your message using the correspondence box in the application page. This facility is only available to applicants who have had their applications successfully accepted and whom have received their guidelines and it can take up to 2 weeks to receive a response.

If you have something you'd like to share with the Guinness World Records team, we’d love for you to tweet us @GWR or visit our Facebook page.