Hydroxamic acids are salt free, organic compounds with affinities for cations such as Fe 3+ , Np 4+ and Pu 4+ and have been identified as suitable reagents for the control of Pu and Np in advanced nuclear fuel reprocessing. The results of a UV-visible-near IR spectrophotometric study of the 1:1 and 2:1 complexes formed between formo-and aceto-hydroxamic acids (FHA, AHA) and Np(IV) ions are interpreted using speciation diagrams for the identification of the species present at diferent pH and ligand to metal ratios. A kinetic model that describes the instability of the complex due to the hydrolysis of the hydroxamate moeity, previously developed for the Fe(III)-AHA complexes [1], is tested here against experimental Np(IV)-FHA data. Consequently, the complexation constant for formation of the 1:1 Np(IV)-FHA complex in nitric acid is estimated at K 1 = 2715, and indications are that complexation protects the ligand against hydrolysis at 0.1 > pH >-0.1.