With the changes brough on by the 1952 revolution, the Historical Records Department in Abdeen Palace was seen as containing little historical material relevant to Egypt’s long history, nor was it accessible to historians and other researchers. Thus, the “National Historical Archives” as established by law no. 356 of the year 1954, had two missions: collecting and preserving Egypt's National documents and making them available to researchers. Its first location was in the citadel until in 1969 it was transferred to the citadel in Cairo.

The presidential decree no. 472 of 1979 was aimed at “preserving official documents, and identifying forms of publication and usage”. It also stipulated that ministerial records were to be preserved in their place of issuance, i.e. the governmental body for a period of 15 years, after which they were to be transferred to the Historical Records Department. After the transfer, the documents would remain confidential for another period of 15 years before they would become available for public viewing.

During the government of President Hosni Mubarak, the National Archives has taken qualitative strides forward and witnessed several stages of gradual and varied development. The first was in 1990, when it moved from the citadel to its current location on the Nile Cornish; at this time it became part of the General Egyptian Book Organization. The second came with the issuance of presidential decree no. 176 of 1993 that founded a new independent organization for the National Library and the National Archives together, separate from the Egyptian General Book Organization.

Establishing this great new foundation has enabled the State to collect in one place Egypt's cultural and historical heritage, whether in print or manuscripts. The National Archives now contains about 4 million books, 110,000 manuscripts, 160,000 periodical volumes, 39,000 musicals, and 100,000,000 documents all kinds detailing Egypt’s political, economic and social history ranging in date from the Fatimid era till the 1970’s.