Records Management
Work with your agency Records Officer to establish and maintain records, and regularly archive content that is obsolete and is not required by law or regulation.
Federal records management ensures that records are identified, organized, can be found when needed, and are kept as long as necessary to support the needs of government and the public.
Related Policy
44 U.S. Code, Chapter 31—Records Management by Federal Agencies
Accessibility: essential knowledge
-
Contact Information for Federal Agency Records Officers
NARA has oversight authority for the agencies and department level offices listed on these pages. The individuals listed here have authority to certify and submit records schedules to NARA.
Records Management events
Records Management news
Reconsidering the consent form: the least user-friendly aspect of UX research
The Open Data, Design, and Development (ODDD) team has replaced signed consent forms with a more accessible user research agreement process, offering multiple opt-in points. This ensures informed consent and participant autonomy. Explore why and how the ODDD team implemented this comprehensive participant consent process in their user research.— via Office of Natural Resources Revenue
Optimizing the federal digital experience: aligning content governance, coordination, and database development
This blog post dives into the details of building a dynamic content database and audit for onrr.gov. Learn how effective subject matter expert (SME) coordination, strategic content planning, and application of visualization tools contribute to enhancing content governance and user experience on a federal website.— via Office of Natural Resources Revenue
Webinar: Non-Compliant Permanent Digitized Records FAQ
On January 10, 2024, NARA hosted a webinar to walk through frequently asked questions about and discuss options and paths for non-compliant digitized permanent records. The discussion also covered the upcoming June 30, 2024 deadline in M-23-07 for NARA to stop accepting records in analog format.— via National Archives and Records Administration
Transition Post 4: President-Elect Transition Team Materials
Transition Post 4: President-Elect Transition Team Materials—Here is a fourth post in GAO’s series on records management during presidential transitions; it is related to questions concerning the records management responsibilities related to Transition Teams.— via National Archives and Records Administration
Archivist Memorandum to Agency Heads on Presidential Transition
Archivist Memorandum to Agency Heads on Presidential Transition—On Monday, November 30, the Archivist of the United States sent a memorandum to agency heads reminding them of the importance of records management during a presidential transition. In this memo, the Archivist emphasizes that in order to have a successful transition, it is crucial that agency heads work with their Senior Agency Official for Records Management and Agency Records Officers to ensure that this message is communicated within the agency and that all agency officials and employees are properly briefed on their records management responsibilities. Review the resources posted on their website for additional information about federal records management during transition.— via National Archives and Records Administration
Resources on Records Management
-
M-23-07, Update to Transition to Electronic Records
M-23-07 updates the previous target dates described in M-19-21 to June 24, 2024.
-
NARA guidance on Managing Web Records
Managing web records properly is essential to effective web site operations, especially the mitigation of the risks an agency faces by using the web to carry out agency business.
More News and Events on Records Management
12 posts
Reconsidering the consent form: the least user-friendly aspect of UX research
The Open Data, Design, and Development (ODDD) team has replaced signed consent forms with a more accessible user research agreement process, offering multiple opt-in points. This ensures informed consent and participant autonomy. Explore why and how the ODDD team implemented this comprehensive participant consent process in their user research.— via Office of Natural Resources Revenue
Optimizing the federal digital experience: aligning content governance, coordination, and database development
This blog post dives into the details of building a dynamic content database and audit for onrr.gov. Learn how effective subject matter expert (SME) coordination, strategic content planning, and application of visualization tools contribute to enhancing content governance and user experience on a federal website.— via Office of Natural Resources Revenue
Webinar: Non-Compliant Permanent Digitized Records FAQ
On January 10, 2024, NARA hosted a webinar to walk through frequently asked questions about and discuss options and paths for non-compliant digitized permanent records. The discussion also covered the upcoming June 30, 2024 deadline in M-23-07 for NARA to stop accepting records in analog format.— via National Archives and Records Administration
Social Media Spring Session 2021
Transition Post 4: President-Elect Transition Team Materials
Transition Post 4: President-Elect Transition Team Materials—Here is a fourth post in GAO’s series on records management during presidential transitions; it is related to questions concerning the records management responsibilities related to Transition Teams.— via National Archives and Records Administration
Archivist Memorandum to Agency Heads on Presidential Transition
Archivist Memorandum to Agency Heads on Presidential Transition—On Monday, November 30, the Archivist of the United States sent a memorandum to agency heads reminding them of the importance of records management during a presidential transition. In this memo, the Archivist emphasizes that in order to have a successful transition, it is crucial that agency heads work with their Senior Agency Official for Records Management and Agency Records Officers to ensure that this message is communicated within the agency and that all agency officials and employees are properly briefed on their records management responsibilities. Review the resources posted on their website for additional information about federal records management during transition.— via National Archives and Records Administration
Transition Post 3: Managing Official Email and Social Media Accounts
Transition Post 3: Managing Official Email and Social Media Accounts—As part of their federal government transition series, this third post highlights the need to manage official email and social media accounts of senior officials as they enter and exit Federal Service. It is very important for these officials to keep personal materials separate from official accounts or systems. This avoids the laborious and difficult task of reviewing voluminous materials when leaving the agency.— via National Archives and Records Administration
Transition Post 2: Entrance and Exit Checklists for Senior Officials
Transition Post 2: Entrance and Exit Checklists for Senior Officials—This post in their federal government transition series highlights the specific resources we have created for senior officials entering and exiting Federal Service. It is critically important these officials are aware of their records management responsibilities. Our Documenting Your Public Service guide includes Model Records and Information Management Entrance and Exit Checklists. These checklists serve as models for records management staff to adapt for use in their own agencies.— via National Archives and Records Administration
Transition Post 1: General Resources from NARA and GSA
Transition Post 1: General Resources from NARA and GSA—During the month of October, GAO will be sharing a series of posts on records management best practices for officials entering and exiting Federal service. Today we’d like to highlight resources made available by GSA for all agencies. They maintain the Presidential Transition Directory to connect the people helping to plan and design the next federal government with information and resources. This Directory also incorporates OMB Memo M-20-24: Implementing the Presidential Transition Act. Our staff worked with GSA to ensure records management guidance has been updated and incorporated into the Transition Directory.— via National Archives and Records Administration
The Digital Transition: How the Presidential Transition Works in the Social Media Age
Take a look at how we plan to preserve and pass on the digital history of the Obama administration. President Obama is the first “social media president”: the first to have @POTUS on Twitter, the first to go live on Facebook from the Oval Office, the first to answer questions from citizens on YouTube.
95%: Describing the National Archives’ Holdings
The National Archives Catalog has reached a milestone: we now have 95% of our holdings completely described at the series level in our online catalog. This is a monumental achievement. Why? Because the National Archives holds over 14 billion pages of records, and we are adding hundreds of millions of pages to that total every