Website of the UK government

Basic search

What is basic search?

Enter a keyword or phrase for what you are searching for in the search box that appears at the top-right of every page of the website. Then select Go.

Is the search engine case sensitive?

No. You can type your search query in lower case, UPPER CASE or a Combination of Both and it will not affect your search results.

Single word or many?

Searching for a single word may not give good results. The more information you provide, the better your results will be. For example, searching for 'child tax credit' will give you more focused results than searching just for 'tax'.

Can I search for specific words or phrases?

Yes. If you are looking for an exact word or phrase, put all the words in double quotation marks, for example, "driving licence". The search engine will only look for pages that include the exact phrase and so will find fewer, but more specific, results.

Does the search engine ignore words like 'the' or 'of' when I submit a search phrase?

Frequently used words like 'but', 'of', 'the' are often called stop words.  If you enter a set of keywords in the basic search box which includes any stop words, they will be stripped out and ignored by the search engine.

Understanding the results

How are results displayed?

The search engine finds the results which are most relevant for the keywords you entered in the search box. It displays the 'best' results highest in the listing. For each result, the search engine shows:

Directgov recommends

In some cases, the search engine will show recommended links at the top of the list of results. They are designed to suggest useful information related to the words you searched for. For example, when the words you searched for are rather general or cover a lot of different fields, you will find recommended links that suggest useful starting points for finding more specific information.

Sometimes Directgov recommends other websites (external links). These links appear as a box on the right hand side of the main results.

Narrow your search. Choose which results you want to see

The box on the left hand side of the page tells you how many results there are for the search query you have made, for example: All pages (300). Where appropriate, the box also shows how many results there are in the Do it online, Newsroom or Useful contacts section. If you just want to see the results from one of these sections, select the appropriate link. For example if you were just looking for Useful contacts, just select the link: Useful contacts (24). To go back to all the results, just select All pages link.

Search within results

To narrow down a set of results you can search within it. For example, if you originally searched for a generic term like 'licence' or 'tax' and got lots of results. Select the Search within link at the right hand side of the page. You’ll then see another search box open up above the search results. If you enter a new keyword or phrase here, the search engine will look for the new word(s) only within the existing set of results.

Can't find what you're looking for?

Occasionally, you may find that the search engine cannot find any results. This may be because Directgov does not yet cover the subject you are interested in or because the search engine cannot understand the keyword or phrase you used.

Directgov aims to provide appropriate answers to most people’s questions about services from government. Sometimes, you might need to find more specialised information, such as legislation or policy details. Read the 'Finding more government information' page for tips.

• Finding more government information

Alternatively, try searching with a different or revised term or check your spelling. You can also use the Advanced search form, which provides an easy way to build up more complex searches.

• Advanced Search

If you can't find what you're looking for on Directgov, use this Feedback Form to contact us

• Feedback form