- 1.15.53.1 Description and Authorities
- Exhibit 1.15.53-1 General Records Schedule 16
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This schedule provides for the disposal of certain records relating to administrative management activities in Federal agencies, excluding records of operating personnel, budget, accounting, and printing functions, which are covered by other General Records Schedules. Included within the scope of the schedule are disposable records created in the course of organizational planning, development, and simplification of procedures; records management activities; and administration of management improvement programs. General Records Schedule 1 (Items 12 and 13) provide for the disposition of case files on individuals involved in incentive award and similar types of management improvement programs. Any records created prior to January 1, 1939, must be offered to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) before applying these disposition instructions.
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The organizational locations and titles of administrative management units vary from agency to agency. They may be scattered at numerous levels or locations, or may be centralized. For the purposes of this schedule, the nomenclature standards set forth by the Senate Committee on Government Operations in Senate Report No. 245, 80th Congress, 1st session, are followed: the first organizational level within an agency is the bureau level; subordinate components are, successively, division, branch, section, and unit.
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This schedule is based on the presumption that management activities are carried on by a specialized person or unit with, at least, division-wide and usually bureau-wide or agency-wide responsibilities or by a group of such persons or units in an agency, although its provisions are applicable to exactly comparable records of agencies without such formal assignments of responsibility. Many similar or comparable records created at lower organizational levels or in field offices vary so greatly in content, value, and arrangement that they are not covered by this schedule.
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Because of the nature of the activities documented by administrative management records, a relatively large proportion of them is of continuing value. Files with potential archival value are not covered by the General Records Schedules. They must be scheduled individually by submission of a Standard Form (SF) 115 to NARA. These records include organizational charts and reorganization studies, functional statements, delegations of authority, and agency histories. However, related temporary or ephemeral materials include working papers that do not have a direct bearing on the transaction, intermediate drafts of documents and worksheets that do not represent significant basic steps in the preparation of final drafts, letters or memoranda of transmittal and acknowledgment, routing slips, and extra copies of documents.
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See Exhibit 1.15.53–1 for General Records Schedule 16.
| ITEM NO. |
DESCRIPTION OF RECORDS | AUTHORIZED DISPOSITION |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Administrative Issuances.[See note after item 1c.] | |
| a. Notices and other types of issuances related to routine administrative functions (e.g., payroll, procurement, personnel). | Destroy when superseded or obsolete. | |
| b. Case files related to (a) above that document aspects of the development of the issuance. | Destroy when issuance is destroyed. | |
| c. Regional Office master reference set of internal management issued by the National Office. (NOTE: ADP Handbook and IRM Parts II and III master reference set may be maintained in regional office or service center). | ||
| [NOTE: For the IRS Record sets of formal directives, procedural and operating manuals, publications, and management improvement reports submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and the case files documenting their development are permanent records. This series has been scheduled under IRS IRM 1.15.20 (Job No. N1–58–99–03) | ||
| 2. | Records Disposition Files. | |
| Descriptive inventories, disposal authorizations, schedules, and reports. | ||
| a. Basic documentation of records description and disposition programs, including SF 115, Request for Records Disposition Authority; SF 135, Records Transmittal and Receipt; SF 258, Agreement to Transfer Records to National Archives of the United States; and related documentation. | ||
| (1) SF 115s that have been approved by NARA. | Destroy 2 years after supersession. | |
| (2) Other records. | Destroy 6 years after the related records are destroyed or after the related records are transferred to the National Archives of the United States, whichever is applicable. | |
| b. Routine correspondence and memoranda. | Destroy when 2 years old. | |
| 3. | Forms Files. | |
| a. One record copy of each form created by an agency with related instructions and documentation showing inception, scope, and purpose of the form. | Destroy 5 years after related form is discontinued, superseded, or canceled. | |
| b. Background materials, requisitions, specifications, processing data, and control records. | Destroy when related form is discontinued, superseded, or canceled. | |
| 4. | Records Holdings Files. | |
| Statistical reports of agency holdings, including feeder reports from all offices and data on the volume of records disposed of by destruction or transfer. | ||
| a. Records held by offices that prepare reports on agencywide records holdings. | Destroy when 3 years old. | |
| b. Records held by other offices. | Destroy when 1 year old. | |
| 5. | Project Control Files. | |
| Memoranda, reports, and other records documenting assignments, progress, and completion of projects. | Destroy 1 year after the year in which the project is closed. | |
| 6. | Reports Control files. | |
| Case files maintained for each agency report created or proposed, including public use reports. Included are clearance forms, including OMB 83 (formerly SF 83); copies of pertinent forms or descriptions of format; copies of authorizing directives; preparation instructions; and documents relating to the evaluation, continuation, revision, and discontinuance of reporting requirements. | Destroy2 years after the report is discontinued. | |
| 7. | Records Management Files. | |
| Correspondence, reports, authorizations, and other records that relate to the management of agency records, including such matters as forms, correspondence, reports, mail, and files management; the use of microforms, ADP systems, and word processing; records management surveys; vital records programs; and all other aspects of records management not covered elsewhere in this schedule. | Destroy when 6 years old. | |
| 8. | RESERVED.Committee and Conference Files previously scheduled under Item 8 has been deleted per GRS Transmittal No. 13, dated October 13, 2004. Use GRS 16 (IRM 1.15.63), as appropriate. | |
| 9. | Feasibility Studies. | |
| Studies conducted before the installation of any technology or equipment associated with information management systems, such as word processing, copiers, micrographics, and communications. Studies and system analyses for the initial establishment and major changes of these systems. Such studies typically include a consideration of the alternatives of the proposed system and a cost/benefit analysis, including an analysis of the improved efficiency and effectiveness to be expected from the proposed system. | Destroy 5 years after completion or cancellation of study. | |
| 10. | Microform Inspection Records. | |
| a. Agency copy of inventories, logs, and reports documenting the inspection of permanent microform records, as required by 36 CFR Part 1230. [See notes after item 10a.] | Destroy1 year after the records are transferred to the legal custody of the National Archives. | |
| [NOTES: (1) This item does not cover the copy of logs and reports that are attached to the SF 135 when records are transferred to a Federal Records Center of the SF 258 when records are transferred to the National Archives. (2) Inspection records for unscheduled records that are converted to microform are also unscheduled and may not be destroyed.] | ||
| b. Agency copy of logs and other records documenting the inspection of temporary microform records, as recommended by 36 CFR Part 1230. | Destroy when 2 years old or when superseded, whichever is later. | |
| 11. | IRM Triennial Review Files. | |
| Reports required by the General Services Administration concerning reviews of information resources management (IRM) practices. Included are associated correspondence, studies, directives, feeder reports, and monitoring surveys and reports. | Destroy when 7 years old. | |
| 12. | Information Collection Budget Files. | |
| Reports required by the Office of Management and Budget under the Paperwork Reduction Act about the number of hours the public spends fulfilling agency reporting requirements. Included are associated feeder reports, report exhibits, correspondence, directives, and statistical compilations. | Destroy when 7 years old. | |
| 13. | Documents Published in the Federal Register.[See note after item 13b.] | |
| a. Files documenting the processing of notices announcing committee meetings, including meetings open to the public under the Government in Sunshine Act (5 U.S.C. 552b(e)(3); hearings and investigations; filing of petitions and applications; issuance or revocation of a license; grant application deadlines, the availability of certain environmental impact statements; delegations of authority; and other matters that are not codified in the Code of Federal Regulations. | Destroy when 1 year old. | |
| b. Files documenting the processing of semiannual regulatory agenda. | Destroy when 2 years old. | |
| [NOTE: Agency files documenting the development, clearance, and processing of proposed and final rules for publication in the Federal Register are not covered by the General Records Schedules. These records may be, but are not necessarily, permanent. They must be scheduled individually by each agency so NARA can conduct an analysis and appraisal to determine their appropriate disposition. Contact your local Area Records Manager for additional guidance and information.] | ||
| 14. | Management Control Records. | |
| Records created in accordance with procedures mandated by OMB Circular A–123, Management Accountability and Control Systems, and P.L.97–255, the Federal Managers’ Financial Integrity Act. Under these authorities, agencies are required to perform evaluations of their accounting and administrative controls to prevent waste, fraud, and mismanagement. | ||
| a. Policy, procedure, and guidance files. | ||
| Copies of internal directives maintained by the agency’s internal control staff (but not those copies maintained in the agency’s official file of internal directives); external directives such as OMB Circular A–123; and correspondence outlining policy and procedure for performing management reviews. | Destroy when superseded. | |
| b. Management Control Plans. | ||
| Comprehensive plans documenting the agency’s efforts to ensure compliance with OMB Circular A–123. | Destroywhen superseded. | |
| c. Risk analyses. | ||
| Reports and supporting materials used to document review of program areas for susceptibility to loss or unauthorized use of resources, errors in reports and information, and illegal and unethical actions. | Cut off closed files annually. Destroy after next review cycle. |
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| d. Annual reports and assurance statements created by organizational components below the agency (department or independent agency) level and compiled by the agency into a single unified report for direct submission to the President or Congress. [See note after item 14d.] | Cut off closed files annually. Destroy after next reporting cycle. |
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| [NOTE: This item does not cover the consolidated final reports submitted directly to the President or Congress. The final reports must be scheduled by submitting an SF 115 to the National Archives. Contact your local Area Records Manager for additional guidance and information.] | ||
| e. Tracking files. | ||
| Files used to ensure the completion and timeliness of submission of feeder reports, including schedules of evaluations, interim reporting, lists of units required to report, and correspondence relating to the performance of the reviews. | Destroy 1 year after report is completed. | |
| f. Review files. [See note after item 14f(2).] | ||
| Correspondence, reports, action copies of audit findings, and other records that identify program internal control weaknesses and corrective actions taken to resolve such problems. Since A–123 provides for alternative internal control reviews under OMB Circulars A–76, A–127, or A–130, this item also applies to copies of these reviews provided they are identified as alternative reviews in the management control plan. | ||
| (1) Office with responsibility for coordinating Internal Control functions. | Cut off when no further corrective action is necessary. Destroy 5 years after cutoff. |
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| (2)Copies maintained by other offices as internal reviews. | Cut offwhen no further corrective action is necessary. Destroy 1 year after cutoff. |
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| [NOTE: Alternative reviews such as computer security reviews and management and consultant studies may need to be kept longer than provided in item 14f(2). This item applies only to copies maintained as internal reviews.] | ||
| 15. | Electronic Mail and Word Processing System Copies. | |
| Electronic copies of records that are created on electronic mail and word processing systems and used solely to generate a recordkeeping copy of the records covered by the other items in this schedule. Also includes electronic copies of records created on electronic mail and word processing systems that are maintained for updating, revision, or dissemination. | ||
| a. Copies that have no further administrative value after the recordkeeping copy is made. Includes copies maintained by individuals in personal files, personal electronic mail directories, or other personal directories on hard disk or network drives, and copies on shared network drives that are used only to produce the recordkeeping copy. | Destroy/Delete within 180 days after the recordkeeping copy has been produced. | |
| b. Copies used for dissemination, revision, or updating that are maintained in addition to the recordkeeping copy. | Destroy/Delete when dissemination, revision, or updating is completed. | |
| 16. | Strategic Initiative and Business Master Plan Input Files. | |
| These reports include correspondence, reports statistics, graphs, charts, and text materials prepared by functional areas of regions, districts, service centers and National Office as input to the Servicewide planning process. | Destroy when 7 years old. (This is a NARA -approved exception to the GRS. IRS Job No. N1–58–96–2, Item 1.) |
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| [NOTE: This item applies to feeder records created in field offices and the National Office to provide input to Strategic Planning Documentationcovered under IRM 1.15.21, Item 1A.] | ||