Records Retirement
When to Retire Records
Decision best made on individual needs of your office
Assess: Access frequency Convenience value of records on hand
Weigh against: Personnel time Space costs
Preparing Records for Retirement
1st and most important step Organize
Screen records and remove extra copies (reference material, duplicate copies)
Place in manila or accordion folders Label each file folder Place files in the box in their proper
order
Ordering and Receiving Boxes To retire records to the Records Center
you must use Records Center Boxes, labels and transmittals
Send email to [email protected] (shipping department at SCC bookstore) Delivery or pick up
These boxes are intended only for Records Center storage. Boxes for moving can be obtained from facilities
Box Particulars
Assembly instructions are provided with the boxes
Approx. 15” of letter-size material fit in one box (2 boxes will fit one letter-size file drawer)
Approx. 12” of legal-size material fit in one box (2 ½ boxes will fit one legal-size file
drawer
Boxing Records for Shipment
Boxes must be labeled and barcoded Can consist of one or more record
series (same disposal date and type i.e.
archival, essential) Boxes do not have to be full to be
retired to state records storage facility
General Rules for Packing Boxes
Preserve existing arrangement of files Boxes designed to hold 35 pounds Lid must close completely Leave 1” of free space in box Leave 4” of free space if you anticipate the
volume to increase in the box (additional files) Legal-size document face towards the right side
of box Letter-size documents face toward the front of
the box (label end) DO NOT PUT HANGING FILE FOLDERS INTO
BOXES
Retention Schedule
General Schedules for Washington State and Community Technical College
Use the retention schedule to determine record series codes and retention periods
Only retire or archive records that are original documents or your department is responsible for the maintenance of the record(s) original travel documents – Financial
Services
Record Storage Content List
The Records Center recommends a box content list be completed for retired files
For each box complete a Records Storage Content form
Forms will not be accepted without a record series code and disposal date.
Note: Disposal dates are to be calculated from the date of the document, not the date that you retire or archive the record
Final Steps
Email your completed Record Storage Content form to the Records Retention Officer
Records Officer will assign numbers to the forms and print them out in triplicate. You will be sent two copies of the form (pink and yellow )
Records Officer will prepare the barcodes and box labels
Labeling the Boxes
Place the box label in the designated area on the front of the box
Tape the yellow copy of the records list to the inside of the lid
Double check the box label number and the bar code number on the yellow form match
Retain the pink copy for your records Send email to Records Officer when
complete to schedule a pick up time