After the inventory is completed, the next step for the Records Management Program is to decide how long each record series should be retained in the office or in storage before it becomes eligible to be destroyed or transferred to the State Archives.

To make this determination, the State agency must define retention periods for the records’ immediate and future usefulness to the State agency, as well as to the entire State Government.

What is a Retention Period?

The retention period is the amount of time an agency keeps and maintains its records after they become inactive. Each functional record series will include an inactivation trigger or cutoff date, as well as a specific amount of time the records will be kept after the trigger event.

A retention period should be based on the records’ usefulness and value to the State agency that creates and/or uses them. Retention periods are based on the functional value of the records, not on the format or media type.

Once a retention period has been met, the disposition of the record by the agency will take place; disposition involves either by destroying the records or transferring them to the California State Archives if they have been flagged as being historically significant. The retention period and inactivation triggers are defined by the agency on the Records Retention Schedule. The California State Archives will determine the disposition action that should be taken at the end of the retention period.

Once a retention period has been met, the disposition of the record by the agency will take place; disposition involves either by destroying the records or transferring them to the California State Archives if they have been flagged as being historically significant. The retention period and inactivation triggers are defined by the agency on the Records Retention Schedule. The California State Archives will determine the disposition action that should be taken at the end of the retention period.

What are Cutoff Dates?

Cutoff dates are the events that cause the retention period to officially begin. The National Archives defines cutoff dates the following way: “All record series need to be cut off, or broken, before the approved disposition can be applied. In other words, the retention period normally does not start until the records have been cut off. Each agency should provide guidance to users on when to cut off records having a particular retention period. Cutoffs involve ending the old files and starting new ones at regular intervals.”

Examples of Cutoff Dates:

  • From creation date
  • From date received
  • From the end of the year
  • From the end of the fiscal year
  • From project completion

How to Define Retention Periods for Records

Applying retention periods consistently will foster efficient and effective administration, will allow State agencies to be accountable for the management of their resources, and allow agencies to be prepared for legal and financial scrutiny.

Retention Period Considerations:

  • Reviewing records to define a retention period.
  • State agencies will determine the records’ administrative, legal, and fiscal value.
  • These values are based on an analysis of work processes, legal requirements, research needs, as well as other factors regarding how these records support the current work of the agency.
  • Records may have value in more than one category.

Some examples of records with these values may include:

  • Administrative
    • Procedure Manuals
    • Retention Schedule
    • Memorandums
    • Reports
  • Legal
    • Contracts
    • Agreements
    • Marriage Licenses
    • Property Reports
  • Fiscal
    • Budget
    • Expenditure Ledger
    • Credit Card Reports
    • Payroll

The ultimate purpose of this evaluation is to determine the retention period and disposition of records.

Administrative Value of Records

Records are created to document the functions a State agency performs day-to-day. Records have administrative value so long as they assist the State agency in conducting either current or future work. The primary administrative use for most records is exhausted when the transactions to which they relate have been completed. From that point on, the records begin to lose their administrative value.

Some administrative records contain basic facts concerning a State agency’s origin, policies, functions, organization, and significant administrative decisions. These records should be preserved to provide documentation of a State agency’s operations in the past, present, and future.

When determining the administrative value of records, ask some of the following questions:

  • Are these records useful to the agency’s programs and functions after they are created or received?
  • How are they used and how often are they used?
  • How long do they stay useful to the agency?

What would the cost be for reproducing the records if they were destroyed prematurely?

Legal Value of Records

Records have legal value if they contain evidence of legally enforceable rights or obligations to the State, both those of the government and those of persons directly affected by an agency’s activities. These records must be made available if they are requested for litigation or legal hold and may not be destroyed once requested while the hold is still in place, even if the records have come to the end of their scheduled retention period.

Determining the legal value often means consulting with an attorney and reviewing statutes and regulations for rules specific about a program or function, and asking questions like:

  • Would these records be useful in case of litigation -- when would they stop being useful (i.e., is there a statute of limitations, etc.)?
  • Are there any statutes, regulations, or memorandums of understanding that require the records to be kept for a minimum amount of time?

  • Are some of the records different than others -- should the record series be split up into different descriptions with different retention periods?

Some examples of records that may provide the basis for actions are:

  • Legal decisions and opinions.
  • Fiscal documents representing agreements, including leases, titles, and contracts.
  • Records of action in particular cases, such as claim papers and legal dockets, etc.

Fiscal Value of Records

Records of fiscal value are those which document financial authorizations, obligations, and transactions, and provide an audit trail; or those records that pertain to the financial transactions of a state agency. Some examples of fiscal records include budgets, ledgers, allotments, payrolls, and vouchers. After records have served their basic administrative functions, they may still have sufficient fiscal value to justify their retention in storage to protect the State agency from litigation, or to account for the expenditure of funds. Records with fiscal value may be subject to audit and may need to be retained for a period of time allowing for an audit to be initiated. Once audits have been resolved, fiscal records often lose their value. When considering fiscal value, which is about financial planning, budgets, and audits, consider questions like:

  • Do the records contain financial information that would be relevant or required in an audit?
  • Do the records help support the budget process now or in the future?
  • What is the audit period for those programs/records?

Identifying Essential/Vital Records

State agencies are required by the State Records Management Act to identify “records essential to the functioning of state government in the event of a major disaster (Government Code section 12274(b).” Essential records (previously known as Vital records) are the recorded information that is essential for the continuation or reconstruction of an agency organization during or immediately following a crisis.

Some examples can include accounts receivable information, fire insurance policies, research and development files, and major contracts and agreements.

Such records are necessary to continue operations without delay under abnormal conditions, and these should be offered additional protections so that essential information is available in the event of a disaster or emergency where records may be unavailable for reference or lost during the event.

Essential records often only make up 3-7% of an organization’s records and information—it is very important for agencies to be particular and specific when they are identifying their essential records to ensure that they contain the correct information needed in the case of emergency where other agency records are unavailable. A phrase to remember is that if everything is essential, nothing is essential.

Essential records are different from records of archival and historic value-- Essential records help the agency continue business processes to the public, or other entities they work with, as soon as the following day after an emergency or disaster has occurred.

Essential records must be stored in 1 of 3 ways:

  • Cloud Storage.
  • Duplicate copy stored at least twenty miles from the main office.
  • Fireproof safe located in the office.

Essential records must remain accessible and usable while still being secure. Keep in mind what is essential for one organization may not be essential for another. State agencies should use their mission statement as a guide for determining which records are truly essential, and records managers should work with their agency’s assigned Continuity of Operations Program (COOP) officer to verify that the agency is identifying and protecting the correct essential records, and to keep everyone in the loop that needs to be.

Per the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)’s Essential Records Guide, there are two categories of essential records. This list below is for reference; however, this list may not be exhaustive, and there may be additional records identified within your agency as being essential to your functions in the event of an emergency.

  1. Emergency Operating Records – records an organization needs to continue functioning or to reconstitute after an emergency. Examples include:
    • Emergency plans and directive(s) which specify how an agency will respond to an emergency. The information content of records series2 and electronic records systems determines which records are essential.
    • Orders of succession.
    • Delegations of authority.
    • Staffing assignments.
    • Selected program records needed to continue the most critical agency operations under emergency conditions and to resume normal operations after an emergency.
  2. Legal and Financial Rights Records – records needed to protect the legal and financial rights of the Government and of the individuals directly affected by its activities. Examples include:
    • Accounts receivable records.
    • Licenses and long-term permits.
    • Payroll records.
    • Insurance records.
    • Titles, deeds, and contracts.
    • Social security records.
    • Retirement records.
    • Military service and medical records

The 3-2-1 Rule

One method for protecting your essential records is the 3-2-1 rule. While the 3-2-1 rule is an ideal arrangement for storing essential records, it may not always be possible. Taking the time to duplicate a record into a second media type may be impractical for program staff who are busy creating and using the records. Best practices, however, still require three copies and some physical separation between those copies.

  1. Keep three copies of any important file—a primary and two backups.
  2. Keep the files on two different media types (such as paper and cloud storage) to protect against different types of hazards.
  3. Keep one copy stored offsite.

The Importance of Managing Essential Records

If essential records are managed properly, the State agency is protected. In the event of an emergency or disaster, those records have been identified on the retention schedule and inventory documents, and has been protected properly, so it will be clear for agency staff to find them when needed either before, during, or after the event has occurred.

If essential records are not managed properly, the State agency may be exposed to risks such as noncompliance, loss of asset value, and high costs associated with restoration and duplication of essential information that has been lost.

While essential records may be stored for lengthy periods of time, records should be classified as essential only so long as they support critical business processes. When records lose their essential status, they should be reclassified. Alternately, if an essential record has been updated with current information, it is incredibly important to ensure that staff are cycling (or replacing the outdated essential record copy with the updated copy) these records.

State agencies are encouraged to develop their own essential records policies and procedures. These might include a list of all essential records held by the State agency, equipment and supplies needed to maintain essential records, contact lists of staff who manage essential records, emergency resources, and any other standard operating procedures.

When determining which records are essential, State agencies should consult with their emergency coordinators, their Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) officers, review their statutory and regulatory responsibilities, and consult existing emergency plans.

For more information about identifying essential records, please attend CalRIM’s self-paced course, RMA 105: Essential Records, available for free on CalLearns.

Storing and Classifying Confidential Information

When discussing records security and storage, it’s important to consider whether the records contain confidential information, including personal information, tax information, or medical information. If so, this sensitive may information require additional protection.

There are many statutes, regulations, and rules which govern the classification of information contained in State records (including SAM 5305.3) that are based on national standards such as NIST SP 800-53. Records Management Coordinators (RMCs) are encouraged to consult with their Information Security Office, Human Resources, Legal, Information Technology, and administrative units to determine what classifications may apply to the State agency’s records and the level of protection necessary for that type of data.

The below resources reference some of the information defined or identified as confidential:

Submitting the Inventory and Retention Schedule to RMC

The records inventory documents should be submitted to the agency-wide RMC, along with the drafted retention schedule documents, before they are officially submitted to CalRIM. This way, the RMC ensures that these schedules meet business and legal needs at the agency level.

Documents that the RMC should receive from their division/unit include:

  • Completed Records Inventory
  • STD. 73 Cover Page
  • Drafted Records Retention Schedule reflecting the records, and retentions, listed on the inventory

RMCs should be verifying that all records are accounted for and know which series accounts for what records, and should ensure that the retention periods either meet legal requirements or business needs.

Once the RMC has reviewed the initial retention schedule draft and verified it meets agency needs, it can then be submitted by the RMC to CalRIM. This process is covered in Chapter 6