Disposal of Paper Originals

• Original paper records should be kept for a minimum of thirty to ninety days after scanning is complete in a manner that allows them to be available to the business unit. This period allows for any errors to be detected and for re-scanning if necessary.
• After 30-90 days:
  • For records that have a permanent retention requirement, which the digital versions will now fulfill, State approval is required for disposal of the paper originals.  Please consult our State Approval Request Process Guide or contact us with any questions.
  • For records that do not have a permanent retention requirement, the paper originals can be properly disposed of at your convenience.
• Please consult our Materials Destruction Guide or contact us for information about arranging destruction and the difference between materials requiring secure disposal and those that do not.
• Document how and when the records were destroyed, and if approval was required, please inform RIMS when the destruction took place.  External companies can generally provide a destruction certificate.
• For more information, we recommend that you review our Guide to Materials and Data Disposal, which explains all processes required for disposal of records and other material.

Have a question that isn't answered here or need more specialized guidance? Please reach out!

Records and Information Management Services 

Visit the Contact RIMS page of our website to get in touch!

Urbana Office: Rm. 450 Henry Administration Building (HAB), M/C 359

Chicago Office: Rm. 258 Roosevelt Road Building (RRB), M/C 010