Frequently asked questions

1. Register for an account
2. You will receive an email with an activation link. Click on the link, and you will be brought to a dashboard page.
3. Click on the green ‘Apply for a record’ button.
4. Search for the record that you want to break.
5. When you find the record, click the ‘Apply Now’ button. If you cannot find the record you can apply for a new one by clicking ‘Apply for a new record title’ at the bottom of the page.
6. Complete the application form.

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.

All evidence must be submitted online. You can upload your evidence by logging into your account. Please do not send evidence to Guinness World Records by post as all file types are accepted online.

After this, our expert Records Management Team will assess your evidence. If your attempt is verified as successful, you will be eligible for one complimentary Official GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ Record-Holder Certificate to confirm your record-holder status!

Unfortunately we are unable to respond to letters, so please make an application online or check our contact page.

Please do not send us evidence before submitting an application and receiving your guidelines, as we will not be able to process it.

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 submit an application for a new record title, Records Category Specialists carefully 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.

For new record ideas please note that Guinness World Records only recognises WORLD records. We do not verify national / country specific achievements.

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? For example, it cannot be related to something restricted to a region.
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. Universal - The proposal must be something, or about something that is known to the majority of the world. It cannot be too specific / regional.
7. Substantially different from a current record - If your record suggestion is similar to something we already have, we will ask you to break the current record rather than approving a variation of the same title.

Unfortunately, our Kids Records are not currently open for proposals on new titles, but you can apply for our existing records via our Kids Website and we suggest you check this page for any new Kids Record releases in the future

We currently hold more than 15,000 records online, so if you wish to find out if a record exists, please feel free to explore our website!

You can locate a record by using the search and entering keyword(s).

To search for specific keywords, please use quotation marks (“xxxx”), as this will show all results containing your chosen keywords.

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.

If you are enquiring about a record to break or set, then please register an account with us. Then login, click on ‘Apply for a record’ in your dashboard to make an application. You will have the option to 'Apply for a New Record Title' if you cant find the record you are looking for.

As we do not provide an individual consultative service, we are currently unable to answer questions relating to multiple record enquiries or specific detailed record enquiries.

You can also review the rest of our FAQ section for more answers.

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 Guinness World Records no longer monitors 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 40,000 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 it may appear on our official website.

There are more than 40,000 current records in our database and we try our best to feature as many as possible online. We currently include over 15,000 records online which we update every week, so make sure to check the site regularly!

For any record titles associated with large amounts of food, our Record Guidelines stipulate 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.

Please refer to our record policies page.

To enable us to continue to be a part of thousands of personal achievement journeys, we can only provide access to use 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 wish to break an existing record or set a new record, and want to view the guidelines, you will need to submit an online application first.

Each application for a new record title is reviewed individually by an expert and we are unable to tell you if your record can be accepted by email or phone.

If you need some ideas on what to choose, take a look at What Makes a Guinness World Records title? or explore our records showcase for inspiration.

Also visit our guide to evidence page to get an idea of the evidence you need to provide as part of your record attempt.

Please note, we cannot respond to postal enquiries.

We do not provide individual consultative services as part of the Self-service application. All Self-service application proposals must be made via our website by submitting an application.

Before suggesting a new record, please view What makes a Guinness World Records title?

If you are applying on behalf of a business, agency or non-profit organisation, you may be interested in our Record Consultancy Service.

Yes, depending on the type of record you wish to attempt. However, 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.

If you need some tips on what is a record then please have a look at What makes a Guinness World Records title?

Don’t forget, you can always explore our Records Showcase to get some great ideas too!

Guinness World Records enforces 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. There are also other records we consider unsuitable for people under the age of 16 to attempt, this is at Guinness World Records discretion.

If you’re under 16 you’ll be unable to apply for the record, so we encourage you to apply again when you’re older. 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.

Guinness World Records receives 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.

You can choose the Priority Application service during the online application process when you first submit your application. If you decide you want to speed things up a bit later, you can switch to Priority Application at any time. If you choose the Priority Application option, your application will be reviewed within 5 working days.  Normal application processing can take up to 12 weeks*.

To do this, please login to your Guinness World Records account, select the relevant application and click on Upgrade to Priority Application.

Once you have sent us your evidence, you can also purchase our Priority Evidence Review service to prioritise the review of the evidence and the approval of your record.

The Priority Evidence Review service is only available AFTER we have received your full evidence, and will ensure that your evidence is reviewed within 5 working days (waiting times are up to 12 weeks* for standard applications).

We currently accept 2 methods of payment for Priority Application and Priority Evidence Review: PayPal and Worldpay.

Please note our Priority Application service is not a consultative service for standard applicants – it only speeds up the standard application process. Using the Priority Application process does not guarantee that your application will be successful, and we do not issue refunds if your application is unsuccessful. 

If you wish to learn more about our fee-based Consultancy services or if you are applying on behalf of an organisation or brand please visit the Business Solutions section of our website. 

*Please note - Our usual wait times are sometimes extended when we have larger than normal volumes of applications. 

Please refer to our Current application waiting times page for the most up-to-date information.

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

First of all, congratulations - you are Officially Amazing!

As a Guinness World Records record holder, you will be entitled to one complimentary record holder certificate.

All newly approved record holders will need to personally order their own Record Holder certificate direct from the Guinness World Records Store. Please log into the Store using your login and password for your Guinness World Records account and your free certificate will be added to your basket automatically. This certificate is free of charge. If you would like to order any further Record Holder certificates then please add these to your basket.

Please note: We do not currently provide ‘soft’ or electronic copies of certificates.

If your order is for your complimentary certificate only then you can choose to have them delivered for free via a non-trackable service. Please select “Free Shipping” on your checkout page and allow 2-4 weeks from receipt of your order. If you wish to upgrade to a tracked service, please choose one of the chargeable shipping options. You will receive a confirmation email once your order ships. 

If your order contains other paid-for items as well as your complimentary certificate, that you have chosen from the Store, then the Store requires proof of delivery for the paid for items, so unfortunately we cannot offer free non-trackable shipping in this instance so you will need to choose a paid for courier service to receive all of your items. If you incur any problems or have any questions concerning your order or the status of your order, contact our customer service representatives who are available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. GMT Monday through Friday.

Guinness World Records has decided to cease using verification codes for purchase of a certificate. If you wish to purchase a certificate, then please visit the Guinness World Records store and refer to the rest of the information in our certificates FAQs.

Please visit the certificates page in the Guinness World Records store and simply click on the “Add to Basket. You will be asked to sign-in using the email address and password that you use to access your Guinness World Records account.

Please use our forgotten password function to reset your password.

Orders can take from 2 - 4 weeks to arrive. If you have waited over 4 weeks and have still not received your order please contact us on the Guinness World Records store.

Visit the Guinness World Records store certificate page and simply click on the ‘add to basket’ underneath the certificate of participation section to bring up the ‘Find your official (Guinness World Records) record breaking event’ box. 

There you will be able to search for a Record Title by entering the date and country of where the record took place. Once selected, click on continue to bring up the search results of all records that took place in that location and date. Select your Record Title, click continue and then follow the instructions on the next page to purchase.

If you can’t find your event, when trying to purchase a certificate in our store then it may just mean that the event has not been verified yet as an official Guinness World Records title (Please contact the event organisers to find out the status of the record attempt and whether they have submitted the evidence). If 16 weeks have passed since the record attempt date, then please contact us with the exact record title, date of attempt, location and Record Holder Name for further assistance.

If you do not know the date of the event, then we would advise at first, to try searching surrounding dates. If you are still unable to locate your event, then please contact the event organisers directly.

If you incur any problems or have any questions concerning your order or the status of your order, pleased contact our customer service representatives who are are available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. GMT Monday through Friday.

Before checkout, you will be asked to review and approve the wording of your certificate. Please do not proceed and continue to the checkout stage unless the wording of the certificate is absolutely correct. If there are any issues with the text on your certificate, please contact us. Please ensure that you clearly state the misprint or misspelling, with your application reference/claim ID number, exact record title and Record Holder name.

Guinness World Records have a standardised certificate formula that is adhered to when creating texts for certificates. We do not 'personalise' or make amendments to certificate texts UNLESS there is a clear error with the certificate text such as a misprint or a misspelling. If you are purchasing a Certificate of Participation, then you will be able to personalise your certificate with your name, following the instructions on the Certificate of Participation page.

If you would like to order more certificates for the same GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS record title, these can be added to your basket – up to a maximum of 100 – at any time during the shopping process. If you would like more than 100 certificates, please contact us at the Guinness World Records Store.

All Official Guinness World Record titles that you have successfully achieved will be located on the drop down list for additional certificate purchase. If you cannot locate your record title on this list, then we would advise you to login to your main Guinness World Records account to check the application status of your record title. If you have any questions regarding the status of your application, then please ensure that you submit an online correspondence using the online correspondence tool on your application summary page (located at the bottom of the page). You can access this tool by logging into your account and clicking on the record title on your dashboard page.

You can order up to 100 copies of a single name certificate via the Guinness World Records store. For orders over 100 please contact us. You can order up to 20 individually named certificates via the store, please contact us for orders over 20.

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.

The Challenger's website is currently closed.  We do not currently have a confirmed date for when this site will be upgraded and reinstated.

We currently hold more than 15,000 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 be up to 12 weeks*.

Once we receive the evidence for your record attempt, it can take up to 12 weeks* for us to review your documentation and let you know if your record attempt has been a success. 

*Please note - Our usual wait times are sometimes extended when we have larger than normal volumes of applications. 

Please refer to our Current application waiting times for the most up-to-date information.

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Guinness World Records 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.

At Guinness World Records we evaluate each application individually and endeavour to get back to you as soon as we can, but due to the volume of applications we receive, it can take up to 12 weeks* to process, so please bear with us.

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.

If your application and enquiry is urgent,you may wish to upgrade to the Priority Application service.

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

We receive almost 1,000 applications every week and sometimes experience delays. In the unlikely event you have not received a response from us within 12 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.

*Please note - Our usual wait times are sometimes extended when we have larger than normal volumes of applications. 

Please refer to our Current application waiting times for the most up-to-date information.

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, you will need to first create an online account, and then submit an online application. We are unable to provide any record specific information over the phone or email.

Please do not send us any applications or record evidence via post without applying online first. We are unable to respond to postal enquiries, however if you do have an enquiry that has not been answered on our FAQ page, then please submit an online enquiry.

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.

*Please note - Our usual wait times are sometimes extended when we have larger than normal volumes of applications. 

Please refer to our Current application waiting times for the most up-to-date information.

Waiting times for a Self-service application can take up to 12 weeks.*

It can take up to 12 weeks* for us to assess your application and send you the guidelines for your record attempt.

Once we receive the evidence for your record attempt, it can take up to 12 weeks* for us to review your documentation and let you know if your record attempt has been a success.

If you need a speedier response, we advise that you use the Priority Application service which will speed the processing of your record application to just 5 working days. This is a paid-for service which costs £500 (in the UK) and $800 (in the US) for applications for existing record titles, and £650 (in the UK) and $1,000 (in the US) for applications for new record titles. You can select this service when submitting your application. If you have already submitted a Standard Application and decide that you want to upgrade to the Priority Application service, you can do so at any time. To upgrade please log into your account, click onto your record title. On the next page, click on ‘Upgrade to Priority’ and then follow the prompts.

Please note, using the Priority Application service does not guarantee that your application will be successful and we do not issue refunds if your application is unsuccessful.

Please note that the Priority Application service is only available to Standard Applicants.  If you are applying on behalf of an organisation or brand, you can access a fast-tracked application and many other services through our fee-based Consultancy services.  To learn more please visit the Business Solutions section of our website.

Visit our guide to evidence page to get an idea of the evidence you need to provide as part of your record attempt.

*Please note - Our usual wait times are sometimes extended when we have larger than normal volumes of applications. 

Please refer to our Current application waiting times for the most up-to-date information.