RECORD RETENTION POLICY & PROCEDURES

State Government Article, Title 10-633, of the Annotated Code of Maryland, requires each unit of the State government to develop and maintain current records retention and disposal schedules to ensure prompt and orderly disposition of records not required by operations of the unit.  

What is a Public Record?

A public record is any documentation that a government employee creates or receives in the conduct of public business.

What is not a public record? 

Property of the government that is not a record include physical artifacts (like the trucks maintained by an agency’s fleet services division), transitory documentation like notebooks into which an employee might jot informal daily goals, and non-business communications like two employees emailing one another to schedule a lunch. It is safest to assume that content generated by an employee is a public record until it is confirmed not to be.

Records Retention Schedule

A records retention and disposal schedule is a written statement of actions to be taken with respect to all records created, received, and/or maintained by the unit.  When properly implemented, it will assist the unit in effecting the prompt disposal of records no longer needed, the storage of records which must be retained temporarily after they are no longer needed for current business, and the preservation of records which have archival value.

A records retention and disposal schedule should, as a minimum, (1) include all records created and maintained by the department, (2) provide a thorough description of each series of records, and (3) show the number of years (retention period) each record series should be kept before destruction or transfer to the State Records Center, or the Maryland State Archives.

Property Control Department shall implement procedures to ensure that all records stored in the storage area is in accordance with the University’s policy for storing such records. To ensure this, the following procedures are implemented:

1. Any department that is sending its records for storage must attach a record retention form to the records.
2. Records sent for storage should put in authorized record retention boxes made available by the Property Control Department.
3. Property Control Department will enforce that any stored document is in compliance with the University’s Record Retention System.

Electronic records must be surveyed to document each record series in digital format, regardless of whether they exist elsewhere in some other form or format.

The records retention and disposition schedule is an official document that lists and describes all records of an agency or office; authorizes the permanent retention by the Archives of those records considered by statute or by the Archives to be of permanent value; and authorizes the destruction of those records not essential to operations after the lapse of a stated period of time.

How to Box Records: All records must be packed in standard Records Retention boxes. Records boxes are available through Property Control. Each box measures approximately 12"W x 15"L x 10"H. Boxes must be new and free of all markings except for the box contents section on the front of the box.

Packing the boxes: Boxes should be packed in an organized manner in the same order as they are listed on the Transmittal.

1. • Letter size records should be placed facing the front end of the box.
   • Legal size records should be placed sideways in the box, facing the left-hand side of the box.
   • Boxes should be packed to no more than 90% capacity, leaving approximately 1-1/2 inches of free space in the box:
   • Box lids should close flush without bulging. Over-packed boxes will not be accepted.
   • Boxes must not weigh more than 35 lbs.
   • Number boxes in the same order listed on the PCIR

The Department name, Destroy date and Record Title must be entered in the appropriate fields on the box. The records center reserves the right to reject unauthorized or damaged boxes.