Storing Electronic Records Adopting an electronic means of storing and communicating records requires attention to data management issues throughout the life cycle of the records. The electronic environment demands that planning for the full storage life cycle be completed before the creation of the first record. Record retention requirements must be specifically stated and can be driven by industry standards, legal rules of evidence, federal regulations, insurance requirements, and other federal, state, or local laws or regulations which provide either general or specific guidance for the particular record being created and maintained by the business unit. Selecting an appropriate medium and system for storing records throughout their life is essential. Retention and Disposition of Electronic Records Records retention and disposition schedules must be developed and approved for all records.
Retention schedules assign the finite retention period or designate the record as permanent.
Some examples of permanent records as defined by NARA are electronic records that replace records scheduled as permanent in another media, and unique and important scientific and technical data resulting from observations of natural events or phenomena or from epidemiological or biomedical studies. If electronic records have reached their destruction date and there exists no special hold order, they should be destroyed in accordance with instructions on the retention schedule. Electronic media should not be reused if previously used for records containing sensitive, proprietary, or confidential information. Such media should be physically destroyed.