The NRS is headed by the Keeper of the Records of Scotland, who is responsible to the Scottish Ministers for the management of the NRS and to the Lord President of the Court of Session for the efficient management of the court and other legal records in Scotland. The office of Keeper of the Records of Scotland was created in 1949, although its antecedents date back to the 13th century. The present Keeper of the Records of Scotland is Mr George MacKenzie. The Keeper of the Records of Scotland is also the Keeper of the Scottish Register of Tartans, with George being the first incumbent of this position.

Mr George MacKenzie 
George MacKenzie has been Keeper of the Records of Scotland since January 2001. George is also the first Keeper of the Scottish Register of Tartans. Before that he was Director of External Relations in the NRS and worked on the Scottish Archive Network, an Internet-based project combining catalogues, online reference services and digital images. He is a member of the Programme Commission of the International Council on Archives (ICA), with responsibility for co-ordinating projects on electronic records and archive automation. He worked for ICA as Deputy Secretary General in their Paris office for two years, 1995-1996, where he was responsible for the professional programme. He carried out missions to Bosnia and Herzegovina for UNESCO, advising on the protection of archives. He has also carried out consultancy work on archives for ICA, UNESCO, and the World Bank. He has acted as external examiner for postgraduate archives and records management students at the universities of Liverpool and Aberystwyth.