Federal Records Management

AC 15.2015

March 25, 2015

MEMORANDUM TO FEDERAL AGENCY CONTACTS: Agency Disposition Profile Reports

Since 2013, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has provided Disposition Profiles to agencies that store records the Federal Records Centers Program (FRCP). This report provides an overview of your agency’s current  and previous year’s holdings, highlights those records that are past due for accessioning or destruction, and shows how you can save money over the long term by approving disposition of past-due records.

We encourage you to review the report and determine whether there are opportunities to take action on past-due disposals and accessions, including lifting litigation freezes where appropriate. Ensuring that all of these records are handled properly can help reduce your disposition backlog, alleviate the financial and administrative burden on your agency, and reduce litigation exposure.

There are two format changes to the 2015 Disposition Profile:

  1. Unscheduled records are now shown as a separate entry alongside other records that are ineligible for disposition due to such statuses as Pending Agency Action and Deferred Reappraisal Pending. Separate entry of Unscheduled records will allow for better tracking under the Managing Government Records Directive (M-12-18), Goal 2.5. Many agencies will see a reduction in their Unscheduled holdings due to agency and FRCP action in furtherance of Goal 2.5.

  2. Due to the size and scope of the recent Tobacco Industry Litigation (TIL) Records Freeze lift, backlogged records pertaining to TIL are listed separately since agencies have not yet had the opportunity to approve destruction of any records now eligible for destruction with the lifting of TIL. Showing TIL-lift eligible disposal costs separately should prove beneficial for agency planning and budgeting as well.

The ultimate measure of success of any Federal records management program is the authorized, appropriate, and timely disposition of the agency's records. We realize that there may be a variety of obstacles to achieving this goal, but we want to partner with your agency to address them. NARA encourages you to work with your agency’s FRCP Account Manager to determine how you can take action on this report and realize the financial benefits of timely disposition. Action could be as simple as requesting that the FRCP re-issue disposal notices for past due transfers for your agency with a commitment to respond on your part. You may be surprised at the savings.

We look forward to continuing to work together to build on our shared commitment to Federal records management.

DAVID M. WEINBERG
Director, Federal Records Centers Program

PAUL M. WESTER, JR.
Chief Records Officer
for the U.S. Government

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