GET RECORDS MANAGEMENT FORMS
In accordance with La. R.S. Title 44, Chapter 5, all state and local government agencies in Louisiana must adhere to the recordkeeping standards established by the Secretary of State, acting through the State Archivist. To ensure your agency remains in compliance, please follow the steps outlined below.
Step 1: Designate a Records Officer
The Records Officer acts as a liaison between your agency and the State Archives on all matters relating to records management, including developing your agency's retention schedule and submitting disposal requests.
The form must be signed by the head of the agency not a designated appointee. It must be updated by July 1st of each year.
Step 2: Designate Roles / Coordinators
Records Coordinators assist the Records Officer in completing records management tasks. Use this form to designate coordinators to represent the different divisions of your agency and to designate coordinators from your legal team and information technology department.
Step 3: Records Retention Schedule Development
A records retention schedule is a set of disposition instructions prescribing how long, in what location, under what condition and in what form records series shall be kept.
This form aids you in the preparation of the Records Retention Schedule. Use one form per records series. It is for your own records and does not need to be submitted to the State Archives for approval.
Submit the form unsigned and in Word format. Include legal citations if statutes or rules exist on the state or federal level. The State Archives will assign a records analyst to your agency to assist you in finalizing your schedule. Schedules must be updated every 5 years.
Step 4: Submit an Electronic Records Conversion Agreement
In accordance with La. R.S. 44:39 and 44:415, all state and local government agencies must seek prior approval from the State Archivist to convert paper records to electronic format; and they must adhere to the conversion standards set by the State Archives. To meet this requirement, agencies must submit the following:
Step 5: Submit Disposal Requests
All local and state government agencies must obtain approval from the State Archives prior to the destruction of any public records. Public records include any materials, regardless of format, created or received under law or in connection with the transaction of official business.
Review your retention schedule at the end of each Calendar, Fiscal and /or Academic Year for record series that have met their required retention period.
On your Disposal Form, list the records series titles as they appear on your retention schedule. You may attach a spreadsheet to the form, if you have an extensive list of records series to submit for disposal. Your agency's Records Officer must sign the disposal request.
NOTE: You may not dispose of records that are subject to legal holds, election challenges, or audit, even if the records have met their retention requirements.
The State Archives will process your request within 30 business days of receipt.
This form is used to document the destruction of your records. It is for your own records.
Do not make arrangements with vendors to pick up your records for destruction until after the State Archives approves your disposal request.
Step 6: Transfer Records to the Records Center (SSARC-103)
The Records Center accepts short-term, inactive records for storage from state agencies only. The records must be listed on an approved schedule to be accepted for storage. For more information, visit How Do I Use the Records Center?
Step 7: Transfer Permanent Records to the State Archives
The State Archives accepts records from state agencies that have historical value and / or are mandated by law to be kept as permanent records. Contact the State Archives via Historical & Permanent Records or by phone at 225.922.0420 to arrange an appraisal of your records. Click here to download the Archives Transmittal Form.
Step 8: Report any Damaged Records to the State Archives (SSARC-930G)
La. R.S. 44:422 and 44:423 requires agencies to notify the State Archives in the event their records are damaged or under the threat of being damaged. For more information, visit Disaster Preparation and Recovery Information.
Questions?
For more information or questions, please contact Records Management via email. Please include your phone number in email correspondence. If you need additional guidance, please consider enrolling in our Records Management Training Classes.