In this installment of our series on the new Guide to Inventorying, Scheduling, and Disposition of Federal Records (ISD) we define what a record schedule is and how to develop one for submission to NARA. For more information see the section Scheduling Records in the ISD.
What is a record schedule? A record schedule is a legal authority, approved by NARA, that gives agencies permission to destroy temporary records after a specific period of time, or requires that they transfer permanent records to NARA.
36 CFR 1225.12 explains the basic process for developing a records schedule. Agencies should follow these steps to complete a successful records schedule:
- Conduct a functional or business process analysis.
- Conduct an inventory.
- Determine the appropriate scope of the records schedule items.
- Analyze disposition and retention needs.
- Create the records schedule.
- Obtain clearances and approvals.
Complete these steps before submitting a draft schedule to NARA. The ISD provides information about each of these steps in the scheduling process.
There are also tools to help agencies prepare records schedules:
- Records Schedule Quality Control Checklist
- Records Schedule Scoping Cheat Sheet
- ERA 2.0 Schedule Data Entry Tool
If you have any questions, please contact your agency’s assigned appraiser.
