Retention and Disposition
Retention and disposition of non-government records
A retention and disposition schedule is a plan of action that indicates the period of time you should retain your records. Records schedules allow you to dispose of records in a timely, systematic manner by setting retention and disposal guidelines based on administrative, legal, fiscal, or research needs.
The State Archives has developed the following records schedules:
- CO-2 schedule for counties
- ED-1 schedule for school districts, BOCES, and other educational governments
- MU-1 schedule for municipalities, including fire districts
- MI-1 schedule for all miscellaneous governments
- County Boards of Elections
The Unified Court System has developed separate retention and disposition schedules for court records as well as guidelines for destroying court records.
The State Archives has also developed a general schedule for state agencies that provides uniform guidelines for the retention of common administrative, fiscal, and personnel records. In addition, the Archives works with individual state agencies to develop schedules for their unique records not found on the general schedule. See State Agency Records Disposition Request Forms for information on developing individualized retention schedules, as well as instructions on how to complete the required scheduling forms. State agencies also have the option of transferring records to the State Records Center for inactive storage.
You may contact the State Archives at (518) 474-6926 or via e-mail for more information about records schedules. For general information about records scheduling and destruction, see Publication #41, Retention and Disposition of Records: How Long to Keep Records and How to Destroy Them, or attend our workshop on Using State Archives Retention Schedules.
Retention and disposition of non-government records
For guidance on developing retention and disposition schedules in non-government organizations, contact the ARMA International. If you actively collect historical records of another organization, individual, or group, develop a collecting policy to determine what to accept and retain permanently as part of your repository. For more information on developing a collecting policy, see our publication, Strengthening New York's Historical Records Program: A Self-Study Guide.
Disposition
Disposition refers to the final decision about whether to dispose of records or keep records permanently. Disposition of records can mean either destroying them or formally donating them to another organization after the records have met their legal retention period.
Appraisal
For local governments, records appraisal is the process of determining whether to keep records longer than indicated in a State Archives' local government records schedules. For guidance on appraising records, see Publication #50, Appraisal of Local Government Records for Historical Value, and attend our Appraisal and Selection of Archival Records workshop.
The State Archives conducts appraisals of state agency records. Records cannot be sent to the Archives without prior consultation with and approval of State Archives staff. Please call (518) 474-6926 or contact us via e-mail for more information about the appraisal of state agency records.
Non-government historical records repositories should use their collecting policy as a basis for appraising records. For more information on developing a collecting policy, see our publication, Strengthening New York's Historical Records Programs, A Self-Study Guide.
Establish a formal procedure that ensures records are disposed of regularly. This will safeguard against accidental destruction of records that have not met their minimum retention periods or are needed for litigation, audits, or other investigations.
State law does not require a specific disposal method for government or other records, though you need to ensure that confidential records are disposed of properly. Publication #41, Retention and Disposition of Records: How Long to Keep Records and How to Destroy Them, addresses the various options for destroying paper, microfilm, and electronic records. For shredding and recycling records, state agencies and local governments can take advantage of the State Records Center's Confidential Wastepaper Destruction and Recycling Contract.
Local governments and state agencies can donate records to another organization (a local historical society) only if the records have passed their legal retention periods as stated in a State Archives' retention schedule. For advice on when donations are appropriate and how to transfer ownership legally, contact the State Archives at (518) 474-6926 or via email.