A 'command paper' is a document issued by the
British government and presented to
Parliament.
White papers,
green papers,
treaties, reports from
Royal Commissions and various government bodies can all be released as command papers, so-called because they are presented to Parliament formally 'By
Her Majesty's Command'.
Command papers are numbered and prefixed with an abbreviation of 'command' which has changed over time to allow for new sequences, as follows:
| C. | 1870–1899 |
| Cd. | 1900–1918 |
| Cmd. | 1919–1956 |
| Cmnd. | 1956–1986 |
| Cm. | 1986– |
External links
★
Command Papers at OPSI