The Federal Records Act requires every federal agency to create, keep, and properly dispose of records that document its official business, and it gives the Archivist of the United States final authority over what gets preserved and what can be destroyed. First enacted in 1950, the law exists so the public can hold the government accountable through an objective paper trail of decisions, spending, and policy. Violations carry criminal penalties, and custodians who destroy records can be barred from federal office for life.
Which Agencies the Law Covers
The statutory definition of “Federal agency” reaches all executive branch agencies and much of the legislative and judicial branches. The Supreme Court, the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the Architect of the Capitol are carved out.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 44 USC Chapter 29 – Records Management by the Archivist of the United States Smaller legislative branch entities like the Government Accountability Office and the Government Publishing Office are covered; Congress itself follows its own rules for institutional records.
Presidential records fall under a separate law. The Presidential Records Act of 1978 established government ownership of records created by a sitting President, so the Federal Records Act governs the executive branch bureaucracy while the presidency has its own framework.2National Archives and Records Administration. NARA’s Role Under the Presidential Records Act and the Federal Records Act
What Counts as a Federal Record
A federal record is any recorded information, in any format, that an agency creates or receives while carrying out public business and that has value as evidence of government activity. Paper memos, emails, databases, photographs, maps, audio recordings, and architectural drawings all qualify if they document agency operations.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 44 USC 3301 – Definition of Records The definition ignores the medium on purpose, so agencies cannot dodge oversight by moving information into new formats.
Not everything an agency holds is a record. Library and museum materials kept only for reference or exhibit are excluded, along with extra copies preserved purely for convenience and stocks of publications or trade journals received from outside sources.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 44 USC 3301 – Definition of Records Non-record materials can be discarded without going through the formal disposal process that governs actual records.
Emails and Texts on Personal Accounts
Emails, text messages, instant messages, and social media posts qualify as federal records when they are created or received in connection with agency business. It does not matter whether the phone or account is government-issued. What matters is whether the content relates to official duties.
If you use a personal email or messaging account for government work, the law requires you to either copy your official account when you send the message or forward a complete copy to your official account within 20 calendar days. The same 20-day window applies to work-related messages you receive on a personal account.4National Archives. Documenting Your Public Service Agencies cannot manage what they never see; if official conversations live only on personal devices, the whole records framework collapses.
Personal social media accounts used to interact with the public on behalf of an agency can become agency property. NARA recommends that agencies set up dedicated, agency-administered accounts for official use to keep the line clear.4National Archives. Documenting Your Public Service
What Agencies and Their Heads Must Do
The head of each federal agency bears personal legal responsibility for the agency’s records. The statute requires agency heads to create and preserve records that adequately document the agency’s organization, policies, decisions, and essential transactions, in enough detail to protect the legal and financial rights of the government and of individuals affected by its work.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 44 USC 3101 – Records Management by Agency Heads; General Duties Every significant decision and financial transaction needs a paper trail.
Each agency must also maintain an active, ongoing records management program with controls over how records are created and used, procedures for identifying records suitable for public disclosure, and cooperation with the Archivist on preservation standards.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 44 USC 3102 – Establishment of Program of Management Implementing regulations require agencies to assign records management responsibility to a designated person or office and to train all personnel on their obligations.7eCFR. 36 CFR Part 1220 – Federal Records; General
Agencies must build safeguards against the removal or loss of records. At a minimum, employees have to be told that records cannot be removed or destroyed except through the formal disposal process, and they have to be informed of the criminal penalties for violations.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 44 USC 3105 – Safeguards
The Move to Electronic Records
Under joint guidance from the Office of Management and Budget and NARA, agencies were required to manage federal records electronically to the fullest extent possible by June 30, 2024. After that date, NARA will only accept permanent records in digital formats with the required metadata.9National Archives. Transitioning to a Fully Digital Government The statute now directs the Archivist to issue regulations requiring agencies to transfer digital or electronic records to the National Archives in electronic form to the greatest extent possible.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 44 USC 2904 – General Responsibilities for Records Management
An agency that believes it is legally required to keep certain records on paper can ask NARA for an exception, but it must first verify that position with its own general counsel. Digital is the default.
How Records Can Be Destroyed
Agencies cannot destroy records on their own initiative. Before any disposal, the agency submits lists and schedules to the Archivist identifying what it wants to dispose of and when.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 44 USC 3303 – Lists and Schedules of Records to Be Submitted to the Archivist by Head of Each Government Agency If the Archivist agrees the records lack sufficient administrative, legal, or research value to justify keeping them, NARA publishes a notice in the Federal Register and allows public comment before authorizing disposal.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 44 USC 3303a – Examination by Archivist of Lists and Schedules of Records Lacking Preservation Value; Disposal of Records
Temporary and Permanent Records
Records fall into two categories. Temporary records are routine files that lose their value after a set retention period ranging from months to many years. Permanent records are those the Archivist determines have lasting historical value; they are never destroyed and eventually transfer to the National Archives.
General Records Schedules
To spare agencies from seeking separate approval for every routine file type, NARA issues General Records Schedules that pre-authorize the disposal of records common across the government. Agencies follow the approved retention period and dispose of qualifying records without a separate request.13National Archives and Records Administration. What Are the General Records Schedules (GRS) For records unique to an agency’s mission, the agency still needs its own approved schedule.
Reporting Unlawful Removal or Destruction
An agency head who learns of any actual, threatened, or impending unlawful removal, alteration, or destruction of records must notify the Archivist. The agency head and the Archivist then initiate recovery action through the Attorney General.14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 44 USC 3106 – Unlawful Removal, Destruction of Records
If the agency head fails to act within a reasonable time, or is believed to be involved in the unlawful activity, the Archivist can go directly to the Attorney General and must notify Congress that the request has been made.14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 44 USC 3106 – Unlawful Removal, Destruction of Records The backstop matters, because it addresses the case where the official responsible for reporting is the same official responsible for the destruction.
Criminal Penalties
Anyone who willfully and unlawfully conceals, removes, or destroys federal records faces a fine, up to three years in prison, or both. A harsher provision applies to custodians of records, including agency officials and records officers. A custodian who destroys records faces the same fine and imprisonment plus mandatory forfeiture of office and permanent disqualification from holding any federal office.15Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2071 – Concealment, Removal, or Mutilation Generally Very few federal crimes carry an automatic career-ending disqualification of that kind.
NARA’s Inspection Authority
The Archivist has broad statutory authority to inspect agency records programs, conduct studies, and report findings to Congress and the Office of Management and Budget.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 44 USC 2904 – General Responsibilities for Records Management Each year, agencies complete a Records Management Self-Assessment and submit results to NARA, which uses them to gauge compliance across the government.16National Archives and Records Administration. Federal Agency Records Management Reporting
When self-assessments or other indicators reveal serious problems, NARA can conduct a formal inspection focused on failures that put important records at risk. If an agency ignores the inspection or refuses to cooperate, NARA can escalate the matter to the agency’s congressional oversight committee and to OMB.17eCFR. 36 CFR Part 1239 – Program Assistance and Inspections NARA cannot directly punish agencies, but the escalation path gives it real leverage.
Access, Preservation, and the FOIA Hold
Permanent records that an agency no longer needs for daily operations transfer to the National Archives, where the Archivist accepts them for long-term historical preservation.18Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 44 USC 2107 – Acceptance of Records for Historical Preservation Once transferred, they become part of the nation’s permanent historical collection.
Records that are the subject of a pending Freedom of Information Act request, appeal, or lawsuit cannot be disposed of while the matter remains open, regardless of what the retention schedule allows.19National Archives. Research Our Records That intersection means the preservation framework does double duty: it protects the historical record, and it keeps records sought by the public from being destroyed before they can be produced.