# BBC Sound Effects

> BBC Sound Effects as searched by Sound Server: 33,000 BBC archive and Natural History Unit recordings (nature, ambience, transport, machines, foley) as WAV and MP3; RemArc licence: personal, educational and research use only.

- Website: https://sound-effects.bbcrewind.co.uk
- Best for: 33,000 BBC archive and Natural History Unit recordings (nature, ambience, transport, machines, foley) as WAV and MP3; RemArc licence: personal, educational and research use only.
- Categories: Ambience, Foley, FX
- Pricing: free
- Licence: BBC RemArc licence (Non-commercial only)
- How it is searched: api
- Direct download through Sound Server: yes
- Restrict a search to it: `https://sound.shep.bot/v1/search?q=...&providers=bbc`
- Listings counted 2026-10-23: 33,066, 33,066 free
- By category: Ambience 25,329, FX 5,286, Foley 3,889

## What it is

The BBC Sound Effects archive publishes recordings from the BBC's libraries, including the Natural History Unit: nature, weather, transport, machines, crowds, interiors and decades of radio and television foley.

## Best for

Professional nature, ambience and foley recordings for personal projects, study and research.

## Licence

The RemArc licence allows personal, educational and research use only. Commercial use, including music releases and monetised videos, needs a separate licence, so every BBC result carries a non-commercial verdict.

## How Sound Server searches it

Through the archive's search API, with WAV and MP3 downloads.

## Example searches

- [Forest ambience](https://sound.shep.bot/search?q=forest&category=ambience&providers=bbc)
- [Trains](https://sound.shep.bot/search?q=train&category=ambience&providers=bbc)

Guides: https://sound.shep.bot/guides/bbc-sound-effects-for-music.md, https://sound.shep.bot/guides/what-counts-as-commercial-use.md

All sources: https://sound.shep.bot/docs/sources.md

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Source: https://sound.shep.bot/sources/bbc