In this installment of our series on the new Guide to Inventorying, Scheduling, and Disposition of Federal Records (ISD) we explore the appraisal process. For more information see the section NARA Appraisal and Approval in the ISD.
Agencies may only use schedules approved by NARA. Your agency’s role in the scheduling process does not end when you submit a schedule to NARA. During the appraisal process, expect to:
- Answer the appraiser’s questions about the records
- Provide more information about the records
- Schedule appraisal meetings with relevant program staff and their NARA appraiser
Why do appraisers ask so many questions during appraisal? Records schedules need to provide clear and concise record descriptions and implementable disposition instructions so that:
- NARA can appraise the records. We have to understand what the records are and how the agency uses them to approve their disposition. We also have to make sure that agencies keep records reasonably long enough.
- Your agency can use the schedule. Agency staff now and in the future need to be able to understand the schedule. They need to be able to recognize their records to know which disposition authorities to use.
The Appraisal Process consists of the following steps. Most schedules require all of these steps, although they may not always occur in this exact order. Sometimes there may be multiple rounds of review and revisions.
- Agency submission and NARA acceptance
- NARA internal review
- The agency makes schedule revisions, if needed
- The appraiser and the agency have an appraisal meeting to discuss the schedule and records
- The appraiser prepares the appraisal report
- The schedule goes to the Federal Register for public comment; any comments received are adjudicated and replied to
- The schedule goes through final approval
Please reach out to your NARA assigned appraiser if you have any questions about this process.
