To fill out AF Form 330, the Air Force records transmittal and receipt form, you list the sending and receiving office symbols, describe each record series with its inclusive dates, cite the correct table and rule number from the Air Force Records Information Management System, and record the number of boxes and total cubic footage in the shipment. The blank form is a fillable PDF on the Department of the Air Force e-Publishing site at e-publishing.af.mil. It travels with the boxes as both a manifest and a chain-of-custody record, and it is signed by the receiving official at the staging area to complete the transfer.
What to Pull Together Before You Open the Form
Most of the entries on AF Form 330 come from your unit’s file plan and the Air Force Records Disposition Schedule. Have these in front of you before you start typing.
- The “From” office symbol, which is your unit’s official organizational designator, and the “To” symbol for the receiving staging area or records center. If either symbol is wrong, the records cannot be traced back to the originating office. Your Functional Area Records Manager can confirm the correct designators.
- A plain-language description of each record series in the shipment. Skip internal abbreviations and shorthand that someone outside your office would not recognize. Pair each description with inclusive dates showing the earliest and latest documents in that group.
- The table and rule number for each series, taken from the Records Disposition Schedule in AFRIMS. These codes define how long the records must be kept and what happens at the end of that period.
- Volume information: the number of boxes and the total cubic footage. The staging area uses this to plan shelf space before your shipment arrives.
Finding the Right Table and Rule in AFRIMS
The Air Force Records Information Management System is the only authorized source for record disposition instructions. No locally created supplements are permitted. Each entry in the Records Disposition Schedule includes a table number, a rule number, cutoff instructions, a retention period, and the final disposition action. That final action is usually either “destroy” after a set number of years or “retire to a Federal Records Center” for longer-term or permanent storage.
Tables also specify which organizational levels the disposition rules apply to, so confirm the rule you cite actually governs records at your echelon. If you pick the wrong table and rule, the staging area may reject the shipment, or the records could be destroyed before their legal retention period ends. This is the single most important entry on the form.
The schedule incorporates the National Archives and Records Administration General Records Schedules, which cover common administrative records across all federal agencies, alongside Air Force–specific tables for operational and mission records.
If a Record Series Is Not Listed
Sometimes a record series does not appear anywhere in the schedule. Unscheduled records cannot be destroyed and must be treated as permanent until NARA assigns a disposition authority. If they are taking up space your office needs for active files, the base records manager can facilitate their transfer to a staging area while final disposition is pending. When transferring unscheduled records, send a copy of Standard Form 135 to the base records manager so the records stay tracked until scheduling is complete.
Packing the Boxes to Match the Form
The physical shipment has to match what you wrote on AF Form 330, and a staging area can refuse the whole delivery over packing errors.
Use standard Federal Records Center boxes. They measure 14¾ inches long by 12 inches wide by 9½ inches tall and hold one cubic foot of files. Order them through normal supply channels under National Stock Number 8115-00-117-8249. Do not substitute office boxes or undersized containers, because staging shelving is built around the standard dimensions.
Inside each box, keep files in the same order and grouping described on the form. Number every box sequentially to show its position in the total shipment: “Box 1 of 10,” “Box 2 of 10,” and so on. Place a copy of the completed AF Form 330 inside the first box so it functions as an internal manifest. Label the outside of every box with the shipment number, box number, and office symbol so receiving personnel can verify the delivery without opening anything.
Delivering the Shipment and Getting the Signed Receipt
How you move the boxes depends on your installation. Some bases have internal courier services or base mail; at smaller installations, unit personnel hand-deliver the boxes to the staging area. Coordinate timing with the base records manager or staging area staff beforehand. Arriving unannounced with a cart of boxes is a good way to be turned away.
On arrival, the receiving official checks the physical box count and the descriptions against what you entered on the form. They are looking for mismatches: a missing box, a description that does not match the folder labels inside, or a table-and-rule number that does not exist in the disposition schedule. Any of these can trigger rejection of the entire shipment.
If everything matches, the receiving official completes the receipt portion of AF Form 330 by signing and dating it. That signature legally transfers custody from your office to the storage facility. You receive a signed copy back, and you need to keep it. That signed receipt is your proof of proper transfer and your protection during future inspections, audits, or records-search requests. Without it, your office can be held accountable for records it no longer possesses.
Who Signs and Who to Ask
The Records Custodian, appointed in writing by the Chief of the Office of Record, is typically the person filling out AF Form 330 and preparing the boxes. The Chief of the Office of Record has physical and legal custody of the records and is responsible for keeping the file plan current and ensuring required training is complete. For questions about disposition codes or file plans, the Functional Area Records Manager is your directorate-level contact. The Base Records Manager oversees the staging area, approves early transfers when office space is tight, and liaises with higher-level records authorities.
When AF Form 330 Stops Applying
AF Form 330 covers the initial move from your office to the on-base staging area. When records later move from the staging area to a Federal Records Center run by NARA, the paperwork switches to Standard Form 135, Records Transmittal and Receipt. Federal regulations require a separate SF 135 for each record series that has its own disposition authority and disposition date.
Why the Paperwork Is Worth Getting Right
Federal records carry legal protection, and mishandling them is a criminal offense. Under federal law, anyone who willfully conceals, removes, destroys, or mutilates a government record faces a fine and up to three years in prison. For someone with official custody, a conviction also means forfeiture of their government position and disqualification from holding future federal office. That forfeiture provision does not apply to retired Armed Forces officers. Beyond the criminal exposure, sloppy transfers, missing boxes, and undocumented destructions undermine the legal and financial rights the records were created to protect.