§ 1228.24 - Formulation of agency records schedules.

(a) General. Agency records schedules approved by the Archivist of the United States specify the disposition for agency records. Records of continuing (permanent) value will be scheduled for retention and immediate or eventual transfer to the legal custody of NARA. All other records will be scheduled for destruction or donation after a specific period of time based on administrative, fiscal, and legal values.

(b) Characteristics of schedules. Though records disposition authority may be requested from NARA on a program-by-program, function-by-function, or office-by-office basis, all agency records must be scheduled. Schedules must follow the guidelines provided below:

(1) Schedules shall identify and describe clearly each series or system and shall contain disposition instructions that can be readily applied. (Additional information is required for permanent records as specified in § 1228.28(b).) Schedules must be prepared so that each office will have standing instructions detailing the disposal, transfer, or retention of records.

(2) SF 115s shall include only new records not covered by the General Records Schedules (GRS) (see subpart C), deviations from the GRS (see § 1228.42), or previously scheduled records requiring changes in retention periods or substantive changes in description.

(3) Records schedules submitted to NARA for approval on or after December 17, 2007, are media neutral, i.e., the disposition instructions apply to the described records in all media, unless the schedule identifies a specific medium for a specific series.

(4) All schedules shall take into account the physical organization of records or the filing system so that disposal or transfer can be handled in blocks.

(5) The disposition of nonrecord materials is controlled by instructions in the agency's printed or published records disposition manual. These instructions do not require NARA approval. Such items shall not be included on SF 115s. Non-record materials, such as extra copies of documents preserved solely for reference, and stocks of processed documents, and personal materials shall be maintained separately from official agency files to aid in records disposition.

(c) Provisions of schedules. Records schedules shall provide for:

(1) The destruction of records that have served their statutory, fiscal, or administrative uses and no longer have sufficient value to justify further retention. Procedures for obtaining disposal authorizations are prescribed in § 1228.30;

(2) The removal to a records storage facility of records not eligible for immediate destruction or other disposition but which are no longer needed in office space. These records are maintained by the records storage facility until they are eligible for final disposition action;

(3) The retention of the minimum volume of current records in office space consistent with effective and efficient operations; and

(4) The identification of records of permanent value in accordance with § 1228.28, and the establishment of cutoff periods and dates when such records will be transferred to the legal custody of NARA.