FAQs for GRS 4.1, Records Management Records
(Updated June 2023)
Download all Frequently Asked Questions of Individual GRS Schedules in a PDF
QUESTION RELATED TO ITEM 010
1. Does this item cover tracking and control records (also known as finding aids) for unscheduled records?
No. We treat unscheduled records as permanent records until they are scheduled.
QUESTION RELATED TO ITEM 020
2. May we keep certain records under this category, such as those about destroyed records, longer than 6 years, but destroy others once the 6 years is up?
Yes, the disposition instruction authorizes both destroying records once they’ve met the 6-year retention period and retaining certain records beyond 6 years, if needed for business use. Agencies must keep the Transfer Request (TR); Legal Transfer Instrument (LTI); and SF 258, Agreement to Transfer Records to the National Archives of the United States for a minimum of 6 years so that agencies can properly redirect Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to NARA after the agency has transferred the records to the National Archives.
QUESTION RELATED TO ITEM 031
3. Why is there an item for copies of vital records? Aren’t such copies non-records?
These may be copies of records held elsewhere in the agency, but these ones exist as a separate body of material for a separate business purpose: to respond to an emergency. They are therefore records in their own right.