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Work with your agency Records Officer to establish and maintain records, and regularly archive content that is obsolete and is not required by law or regulation.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.

44 U.S. Code, Chapter 31—Records Management by Federal Agencies

44 U.S. Code, Chapter 31—Records Management by Federal Agencies

Accessibility: essential knowledge

Records Management events

Records Management news

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

National Archives and Records Administration logo

Dec 01, 2020

Resources on Records Management

More News and Events on Records Management

12 posts

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

National Archives and Records Administration logo

Dec 01, 2020

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

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Oct 21, 2020

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

National Archives and Records Administration logo

Oct 15, 2020

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

National Archives and Records Administration logo

Oct 09, 2020

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
Jul 20, 2016