5 FAM 420
RECORDS Management Overview
(CT:IM-288; 08-23-2022)
(Office of Origin: A/GIS/IPS)
5 fam 421 managing records
(CT:IM-288; 08-23-2022)
a. Records management is the planning, controlling, directing, organizing, training, promoting, and other managerial activities involved with respect to records creation, maintenance and use, and disposition, called a records life cycle, to achieve adequate and proper documentation of the policies and transactions of the Federal Government and effective and economical management of agency operations.
b. Effective controls over the creation, maintenance and use of records are essential to ensure important policies, decisions, and operations are adequately documented.
c. Records must be managed pursuant to the appropriate records disposition schedules, security policies and procedures pursuant to 12 FAM, and the bureau office or post section internal procedures to:
(1) Provide evidence of the decisions and actions taken by Department personnel who conduct government business for or on behalf of the Department;
(2) Ensure records are available when needed, where needed, and in a usable format to meet the business needs of the Department to carry out its mission;
(3) Preserve the Department’s corporate institutional knowledge and memory of its business decisions;
(4) Minimize the financial and legal risk of losing valuable information;
(5) Reduce operating costs through control over the lifecycle of the records;
(6) Comply with the Federal Records Act and other laws, and regulations;
(7) Protect the rights of the Government and its citizens;
(8) Respond to government inquiries and public requests for records (such as Congressional inquiries, FOIA requests and subpoenas);
(9) Ensure essential records are available for the continuation of Department business in the event of a emergencies; and
(10) Provide appropriate documentary materials for research and other historical purposes.
5 FAM 422 Records Disposition Schedule (RDS)
(CT:IM-288; 08-23-2022)
a. A records disposition schedule provides the legal framework for organizing and managing Federal records. The schedules are approved by the Archivist of the United States and grant legal authority to the Department to implement the mandatory instructions.
b. The Department’s records disposition schedules are divided into Domestic Office Records Schedules and Foreign Service Posts Records Schedules. Each group contains two categories of records, program and administrative.
(1) Program records are mission-oriented records that relate to the unique and substantive functions of a bureau or post; and
(2) Administrative records relate to the more routine management functions or activities that all bureaus and posts carry out.
c. Disposition defines the value of the records series and outlines the mandatory length of time the records should be maintained by the Department (the retention period) and the final action Department personnel must take (either destroy or preserve).
(1) Permanent records must not be destroyed. Permanent records must be retired to the Records and Archives Management Division (A/GIS/IPS/RA) where the records will be preserved for eventual transfer to NARA.
(2) Temporary records are destroyed pursuant to the records disposition schedule policy and only after a specific time frame, event, or a combination of the two:
(a) If there is a legal hold, pending litigation, investigation or audit, the records must not be destroyed until the Office of the Legal Adviser advises when the legal hold has been lifted; and
(b) All classified and administratively controlled records, including sensitive but unclassified records, must be destroyed pursuant to 12 FAM security regulations, policies and procedures.
d. Records that are not covered by an approved records disposition schedule are considered permanent records and must not be destroyed. Department personnel must contact A/GIS/IPS/RA to obtain authorization before destroying the records.
5 FAM 423 Non-Record Material
(CT:IM-288; 08-23-2022)
a. The definition of a record does not include non-record material and personal papers. Non-record materials are Department-owned documentary materials that are not covered under the legal definition of a record. Non-records fall into one of the following categories:
(1) Library and museum material made or acquired and preserved solely for reference or exhibition purposes, including physical exhibits and artifacts;
(2) Extra copies of documents preserved only for convenience or reference; and
(3) Stocks of publications or other reproduced documents maintained for supply or reference.
b. Non-record materials are generally kept only for convenience or reference purposes and may be disposed of when no longer needed.
c. However, non-record materials may not be destroyed if they are:
(1) Relevant to any ongoing or specifically foreseeable civil litigation or criminal prosecution;
(2) Responsive to a pending Freedom of Information Act or Privacy Act request;
(3) Relevant to any ongoing or specifically foreseeable civil litigation or criminal prosecution;
(4) Responsive to a pending Congressional document request or subpoena; or
(5) In other situations as may be instructed by the Office of the Legal Adviser.
d. Mandated searches for material in Department files must be reasonably calculated to yield all extant responsive material in the Department’s possession or control, including “records” and “non-records” alike.
e. Departing officials may request Department authorization to remove copies of unclassified, non-record material as provided in 5 FAM 418.10-3.
5 FAM 424 Personal Files (or Personal Papers)
(CT:IM-288; 08-23-2022)
a. Personal files are documentary materials that do not relate to Department business. Personal files are materials that belong to an individual, not the agency. They are purely private, relate solely to an individual’s personal affairs, or are used exclusively for convenience.
b. All Department personnel must adhere to Department guidelines governing the personal use of Department owned information systems.
c. To properly manage personal papers, it is recommended that personal papers be clearly identified and filed separately from the official records that will be created and maintained during an employee’s tenure. This makes it easier to identify personal papers when requesting authorization for removal at the end of tenure.
d. If personal information and official information appear in the same document, the entire document will be treated as a record and must be managed pursuant to the appropriate records disposition schedule.
e. Personal files may be disposed of at the employee’s discretion.
5 FAM 425 Through 429 UNASSIGNED