Records Basics
Definition of a Record
See 44 U.S.C. 3301 for the legal definition of a record.
A record is information, regardless of format, that is:
- Created or received by the federal government in the course of business, and
- Preserved, or should be preserved, due to its evidential value in documenting the U.S. government, or its informational value
Library and museum materials made or acquired for reference or exhibition purposes are not records.
Breaking down the definition of a record
Recorded information. Information that agencies capture. See also 44 U.S.C. 3301 for the legal definition.
Regardless of physical form or characteristics. The agency captures the information either in analog/hardcopy or digital format. The medium may be paper, film, disk, or another physical type or form. The method of capture may be manual, photographic, automatic, or a combination of these.
Made. The act of creating and recording information by agency employees or systems. Such recorded information is often circulated or otherwise available to others.
Received. The acceptance or collection of documentary materials by agency employees:
- Regardless of who originated the materials.
- Regardless of how the materials were transmitted.
Received does not refer to misdirected materials. It may or may not refer to loaned or seized materials. Consult your agency legal counsel about government ownership of loaned or seized materials.
Preserved. The agency maintains the records, whether they exist in a filing system or not.
Appropriate for preservation. The agency should maintain the records, even if they don't have formal recordkeeping policies and practices.
In summary:
- Records are made or received by a federal agency either to follow a law or to conduct public business. As a result, they belong to the government rather than to individuals. Whether records are permanent or can be destroyed depends on approval from the Archivist of the United States.
- Records are, or should be, maintained because they:
- Provide evidence of an agency's organization, functions, and activities, or
- They contain information of value, such as the persons, places, things, or matters dealt with by an agency.
Non-record Materials
Non-record materials are those that fail to meet the legal definition of a record. The following are specifically excluded in the law:
- Extra copies of documents preserved only for convenience of reference.
- Stocks of publications. This includes special studies, brochures, pamphlets, books, handbooks, manuals, posters, and maps. Each agency needs to create and maintain record sets of publications and official reports.
- Library and museum holdings.
Contact your NARA appraiser if you are unsure information or data is a record.
Non-record reference copies may still be subject to legal discovery or Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.
Examples of non-record materials
- Copies kept only for convenience of reference, not containing any unique information, and not used in taking actions.
- Duplicate copies of documents maintained in the same file.
- Publications received from external organizations used for reference purposes.
- Physical exhibits, artifacts, and other objects that do not have evidential value.
- Contact lists associated with email and personal devices.
- Individual user contact lists associated with email accounts and personal devices.
Working Files
Working files, or working papers, are often records. For example, the following working files are records:
- Case working files
- Working files used in preparing reports or studies
- Preliminary drafts of policy documents circulated for comment are also records.
Agencies should carefully review the files before deciding that specific working files are not records.
Working files are records when:
- They were circulated or made available to employees, other than the creator, for official purposes such as approval, comment, action, recommendation, follow-up, or to communicate with agency staff about agency business; AND
- They contain unique information, such as substantive annotations or comments that adds to a proper understanding of the agency's formulation and execution of basic policies, decisions, actions, or responsibilities.
Agencies need to manage working files that are records to ensure adequate and proper documentation. See also 36 CFR 1222.12(c).
For more information on working files as copies, see the next section.
When Is A Copy A Record
Whether a document is an original or a copy does not define its record status. Copies of a single form may each be a record because each serves a separate purpose. Many copies are records. Record status depends on how the document is used to conduct business, not on uniqueness. See also 36 CFR 1222.12(d).
Only copies kept for convenience or reference are non-record. An example of a non-record copy would be an individual employee’s personal copy of a procedure. Personal copies of records are becoming more rare as information is available online.
Copies are records when:
- They are used to conduct business
- They have a function or purpose that is different from other copies of the record
- They are posted on a website (internally or externally)
Copies posted on websites are records. They have a function and purpose that is different from the original or other copies. Namely, that purpose is to make information available to the public or other users.
Copies that are records must have a NARA-approved disposition authority.
Types of copies
Non-recordkeeping copies. Original records or copies of records that are not identified as the recordkeeping copy. Usually, these are copies of records someone used in the course of business, but are not the copy stored in a recordkeeping system. GRS 5.1, item 020, covers electronic non-recordkeeping copies as long as they have the same purpose as the recordkeeping copy.
Examples of non-recordkeeping copies:
- Electronic mail. The original copy resides in a user’s inbox and the preservation copy is stored in an email archive. The original copy is a non-recordkeeping copy because the archived copy is the recordkeeping copy.
- Case files vs. working files. A user may have electronic copies of records in a working file that eventually go into a case file system. The case file system is the recordkeeping copy. The copies in the working file are non-recordkeeping copies.
Source records. The record from which a digitized version or digitized record is created. The source record should be the record copy that was used in the course of agency business (36 CFR 1236.41). GRS 4.5, item 010, covers most source records that are digitized to NARA standards (see the GRS for other exclusions).
Digitized records. A digital record created by converting paper or other media formats to a digital form that is of sufficient authenticity, reliability, usability, and integrity to serve in place of the source record (36 CFR 1236.41).
Input records. The records from which information in an electronic system originates. They include electronic records such as upload files staged for ingest into a system. They also include paper or analog records such as paper forms, where information is manually entered from the form into the system. GRS 5.2, item 020, covers these input records.
Working drafts. Preliminary drafts created in the process of making a final document. Working drafts are often not true copies. They may contain comments or annotations that are unique information. Working drafts are non-record only if they were never circulated to anyone and they do not contain unique content. See also the section above on Working Files and 36 CFR 1222.12(c). Working drafts can be intermediary or transitory records. See GRS 5.2 and the Frequently Asked Questions About GRS 5.2 for more information about these types of records.
Personal Materials
Materials belonging to an individual that are not used for agency business. They document personal and private matters or are kept for convenience.
Employees should identify their personal materials and maintain them apart from records and non-records.
Categories of personal materials include:
● Materials from previous employment that are not used to conduct current business. Examples include previous work files, political materials, and reference files.
● Materials related to personal activities. This includes family matters, outside business pursuits, professional activities, or private political associations. Examples include:
- Personal correspondence
- Volunteer and community service records
- Literature from professional organizations
- Personal manuscripts and drafts of articles and books
● Work-related materials that are not part of the conduct of agency business. This includes:
- Personal diaries or journals
- Rough notes that are never circulated or relied upon in decision making
- Personal appointment schedules or calendar entries
These records are difficult to tell from federal records because they are work-related. They are personal papers if:
- The employee treats them as personal papers and
- They serve only the person's own purpose. For example, as reminders and personal observations about work-related and other topics.
Distinguishing between Personal Materials and Federal Records
Federal courts have developed guidance in deciding Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) cases. Agencies can use this guidance to help determine if materials are records or personal papers. When thinking about the record status of work-related documentary materials, consider the following:
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Creation. Was the document created or received by an agency employee on agency time, with agency materials, and at agency expense? If not, then the document is unlikely to be an agency record. If so, it may or may not be an agency record, depending on other considerations.
- Content. Does the document contain only substantive information about agency business? Or does it contain only information about the employee's personal matters? Does it contain both official and personal information? If the document does not contain official information, it is likely not an agency record. If it does, its potential record status depends on other considerations.
- Purpose. Was the document created for agency business? If so, it may be an agency record, depending on its distribution and use by other agency employees. Was it created only for the employee's personal convenience? If so, it is unlikely to be an agency record.
- Distribution. Was the document distributed to other employees for an official purpose? If so, it is an agency record.
- Use. Did this employee or others actually use the document to conduct agency business? Materials brought into the agency for reference use do not automatically become records. These materials may not be records even if they relate to official matters or influence the employee's work. The materials are records only if the employee relies on them to conduct agency business or other employees use them for agency purposes.
- Maintenance. If it is on a shared drive or agency electronic system, it is likely an agency record. If it is not accessible for use by other employees or on a personal drive, then its record status may depend on other considerations.
- Disposition. Does a NARA-approved records schedule govern the document's disposition? If so, the document is likely to be a federal record and is also likely to be an agency record for FOIA purposes. The document is unlikely to be a record if the employee is free to destroy or remove the document at their discretion.
- Control. Has the agency established "institutional control" over the document? This occurs through applicable maintenance or disposition directives. Did it do so by requiring the document to be created in the first place? If so, the document is most likely an agency record.
In short, mere location in the agency does not mean that the materials are records, nor is use alone conclusive in determining record status. Materials generally assume record status when the agency asserts control by requiring them to be created or kept. Similarly, documents are not personal just because the employee is free to dispose of them. Other considerations determine whether the records are subject to agency control.
If materials include both agency information and personal information, personal information should be removed from any agency files.
Electronic Information Systems as Records
An information system is any automated system that facilitates the access to and management of information and records in a computer system.
What is not an information system:
- Computer hardware
- Computer networks
- Software
Computer hardware and networks are not records. They are things, so they do not need a records schedule. They may contain records, however.
Software, code, and computer applications can be records. If federal employees create or have created software, code or computer applications, it is a record. GRS 3.1, item 012, covers such records if they relate to other records scheduled as temporary.
If your agency contracts for the development of software, you should work closely with your information technology office and acquisitions office to determine what code is delivered to the government and what rights the government is acquiring. Contractor generated code may be a federal record.
Information systems include three categories of information:
- Inputs. These are the sources of information in a system. Sometimes the only input is information that moves directly from one system to another without any intermediary record involved. In these cases, there may be no input record. Other forms of inputs include paper records or forms where the information is scanned or entered into a system by hand. Input records also can be electronic files, such as copies of data files. See GRS 5.2, item 020, for disposition of most input records.
- System content. This is the information the system contains. It is also sometimes referred to as the “master file.” System content can be data or other digital files such as PDFs. It can also include metadata.
- Outputs. These are the products of an information system. Products can include digital or printed reports, data files, and even query results. System outputs are records that must be scheduled, unless they qualify as transitory records (GRS 5.2, item 010).
Information systems also have documentation. This documentation may take the form of user guides or codebooks. It explains how the system works. System documentation is critical for understanding the information in the system. Your agency should maintain the system documentation for the life of the system. See GRS 3.1, items 050 and 051 for disposition of system documentation.
See also: Scheduling Guide 9 Scheduling Electronic Systems
Other Common Terms
Disposal: Final actions taken on temporary records after their retention periods expire. These actions include destruction or donation. Note that NARA must approve the donation of temporary records to a person or entity.
Disposition: The actions taken on federal records when they are no longer needed to conduct current agency business. This is also the final stage of the records lifecycle.
Disposition actions include:
- Transfer of records from one federal agency to another.
- Transfer of permanent records to the National Archives of the United States.
- Disposal of temporary records no longer needed to conduct agency business.
Records lifecycle: The basic stages that records go through.
- Creation or receipt
- Maintenance and use
- Disposition
Records series: A group of records, regardless of format, kept together for one or more of the following reasons:
- They relate to a particular subject or function
- They result from the same activity
- They document a specific kind of transaction
- They have some other relationship arising out of their creation, receipt, or use
The record series concept is a convenient way of grouping files or documents to manage them as a group.
Back to The Inventory, Scheduling, and Disposition of Federal Records (ISD)
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