FAQs
The Records Retention Schedule outlines which records must be destroyed once they have fulfilled their retention period and which records must be transferred to the Archives. Destroying records at the end of their retention period serves several purposes: Maximizing efficiency by eliminating unused information.
What is data retention and destruction? ›
Retention policies detail how long data records should be stored, where, and in what format. Retention periods may be based on state or agency archiving requirements as well as when specific data need to be used or reported. Data destruction is the process of eliminating data records that no longer need to be retained.
What is the difference between retention and archiving? ›
Difference Between Data Archiving and Data Retention
Data archiving focuses on securely storing data that has permanent or long-term value to the company. Meanwhile, data retention creates a set of rules which determines how long a company should keep data until it needs to be disposed of or moved to an archive.
What are the five methods of destroying records? ›
(a) For paper records containing information that is confidential or exempt from disclosure, appropriate destruction methods include burning in an industrial incineration facility, pulping, pulverizing, shredding, or macerating.
How long must records be kept before they can be discarded destroyed? ›
As a practical matter, this means that California residents would need to hold onto their records for an additional year beyond the federal requirements. Other. It depends on the record. If you aren't sure, 10 years is a good retention period for legal reasons.
What is considered data destruction? ›
Data destruction is the process of destroying data stored on tapes, hard disks and other forms of electronic media so that it's completely unreadable and can't be accessed or used for unauthorized purposes.
What is the proper destruction of data? ›
For highly sensitive data, physical destruction may be the most secure option. This can include shredding, crushing, or incinerating storage devices to make data unrecoverable. For magnetic storage media, degaussing can effectively erase data by demagnetizing the medium, rendering the data unrecoverable.
What are the three types of archives? ›
Types of archives
- College and university archives: typically preserve materials related to the university or college. ...
- Corporate archives: manage and preserve records of that business. ...
- Government or national archives: may collect materials related to all levels of government.
What are the three methods of archiving records? ›
When it arrives to archiving documents, there are three major storage solutions: physical archiving, electronic archiving, and scan-on-demand storage.
Are archives and records the same thing? ›
An archives is the repository of the permanently valuable records of an organization. Such records are traditionally transferred to an archives, both physically and legally, when the organization that created them no longer needs them in the course of business.
What Methods of Data Destruction Will 100% Destroy Data?
- Degaussing. Degaussing is a process that uses a high-power magnet to destroy any data stored by a magnetic field. ...
- Overwriting. Overwriting is the process of writing junk or random data on top of old data often multiple times. ...
- Physical Destruction.
How can records be destroyed? ›
Pulverizing: Paper is reduced to small, fine particles (such as powder or dust) by methods of crushing, grinding, etc. Incineration: Paper is burned to ensure complete destruction and non-retrievability of data.
What is the preferred method for destruction of records? ›
Shredding is the preferred method of destruction. The destruction of all records must be documented in the event of a dispute, lawsuit, investigation, subpoena, summons, or other legal or formal process.
What records must be kept forever? ›
Records such as birth and death certificates, marriage licenses, divorce decrees, Social Security cards, and military discharge papers should be kept indefinitely.
What records should be kept for 7 years? ›
KEEP 3 TO 7 YEARS
Knowing that, a good rule of thumb is to save any document that verifies information on your tax return—including Forms W-2 and 1099, bank and brokerage statements, tuition payments and charitable donation receipts—for three to seven years.
What records must be kept for 5 years? ›
A few documents require a 5 year retention period, and they all relate in some way to anti-money laundering (AML): Currency transaction reports (CTRs) Suspicious activity reports (SARs) Customer identification program (CIP) information.
What does data retention mean? ›
Data retention refers to the practice of storing data for a specific period of time. This can be done for a variety of reasons, including legal compliance, business continuity, and data analytics.
What is data retention process? ›
Data Retention is a process of retaining data for a set time to comply with legal, administrative, operational, or business requirements. Data retention ensures that information is kept safe and available for intended use while complying with privacy and data protection laws.
What is the purpose of data retention? ›
Though the primary purpose of a data retention policy is to ensure proper data management in accordance with relevant legal statutes and regulations, it's also an excellent way to enhance efficiency within your organization.
What is the email retention and destruction policy? ›
In general, standard business correspondence should be retained for a 1 year minimum, or 5 to 10 years on the safest side. Certain legal, financial, and contract items will require between 5 and 10 years of retention. Exceptions requiring longer retention can be set with no expiration date and archived.