Got Records?

              HOW DOES THE RETENTION
SCHEDULE WORK?
When you create a record, it goes through a life-cycle.
It is actively used for business activities for
a period of time, and then it typically is used less
frequently. Finally, it is retained for an additional
period of time during which it is available for ref-erence
or legal purposes. When the retention
period is satisfied, it is destroyed or transferred to
the State Records Center for long-term storage or
the State Archives for permanent storage.
The Retention Schedule makes this an orderly
process. Every record series on the schedule has
a retention period assigned to it that includes
both the maximum and minimum time to keep the
record. It must be kept at least for the minimum
time period because either it’s needed for busi-ness
purposes or the law requires it. Keeping it
longer than the maximum period, among other
things, could put the department at risk legally.
All Retention Schedules are on the Policy &
Research Center site on InsideIDOT under
‘Records Management Program’.
WHAT ABOUT DUPLICATE COPIES?
On the Retention Schedule, you’ll notice that
every record series has a location that has been
identified as the office of record. This is important.
For legal compliance or reference purposes, we
need to keep only a single copy of anything created.
Of course, during the course of business activities
you may create and distribute many copies of the
record in order to get your work done. These are
considered convenience copies or duplicates.
If you are listed as the office of record for a par-ticular
record series, you must keep your copy of
the record for the full retention period. If you are not the
office or record, you need not do so and should
destroy your copies as soon as they are no longer
needed. Under no circumstances should you retain
your copies longer than the official retention peri-od
without first notifying the Bureau of Business
Services (Records Management Manual, 6.2.3).
WHAT DO I DO WITH ALL
OF MY OLD RECORDS?
Whatever you do, do not destroy state records
before the time period listed on the applicable
Retention Schedule or before you have obtained
an approved Disposal Certificate from the Office
of the Secretary of State. Many of our records are
subject to legal requirements as well as opera-tional
ones. Some records directly affect our abili-ty
to run the department.
The retention periods on each Schedule have
been developed to reflect these needs. If you
have a question, if you think a retention period for
records that you use is either too long or too
short, or if you can’t find a record on the sched-ule,
please contact your Records Management
Committee representative.
Important: If you become aware of a reason to
temporarily suspend the destruction of old
records – the possibility of a lawsuit, an investiga-tion
by a another government agency, or some
other incident that might involve records that are
scheduled to be destroyed – you should immedi-ately
notify your supervisor.
If you are unsure as to whether there is a reason
to suspend destruction of old records, contact the
Bureau of Business Services. We will be happy to
work with you to resolve your concerns and assist
you in taking the correct actions.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
• State Records Act (5 ILCS 160)
• Departmental Order 9-2: Records
Management Program
• Records Management Manual
• Records Management portion of Policy &
Research Center site on InsideIDOT
State of Illinois
Illinois Department of Transportation
Printed by authority of the State of Illinois, 1063-09, 04/09, 5,000
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