Program Manual

Agency Records Disposition Schedule

The most important step in the records management process is developing a records disposition schedule. A records analyst from the Secretary of State's Office will help the agency determine how long records should be kept, how they should be stored, whether microfilm or imaging would be alternatives and other aspects of records management. Once data is collected, it is compiled into a records disposition schedule. The schedule lists each type of document used by the agency, the recommended retention period, its manner of destruction and other considerations. The records disposition schedule is vital to an effective plan of records management.

Before the schedule may be used the State Records Commission must first approve it. The Commission is composed of seven members: the Secretary of State, Attorney General, State Auditor, members from both the House of Representative and the Senate, the director of the State Historical Society and the state Chief Information Officer in the Office of Information Technology. Once the Commission has approved the records disposition schedule, records may be microfilmed or stored in the Records Center (Reference RSMo109.230).