FBI
Announces New Proposed Records Control Schedule
for FBI Case Files
The
FBI is pleased to announce a new proposed records
control schedule for FBI investigative, administrative,
and other case files. Specifically, the case file
control schedule is the legal authority governing
the length of time that closed FBI case records
are kept before they are transferred to the National
Archives and Records Administration (NARA) or destroyed.
The FBI established a Records Management Division
(RMD) in 2002 to update and modernize all of the
FBI's records management control systems and this
product is an important milestone in that process.
Once this schedule is approved by NARA, it will
replace authorities that have been out of date for
more than a dozen years. The approval of this records
control schedule plan will also be an important
part of the FBI's transition to electronic, rather
than paper-based, recordkeeping systems.
Federal records belong to the citizens. To that
end, a summary of the new proposed schedule will
be published in the Federal Register by the National
Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Citizens
will then have the opportunity to request copies
of the case file control schedule, ask questions
of NARA and the FBI and submit suggestions for any
changes to the schedule. This schedule was developed
in partnership with NARA as part of their Targeted
Assistance Program.
The
proposed FBI case file schedule is a major milestone
in updating and modernizing FBI records management.
Although this document is not the final product
in the modernization process, it is a major part
of the Record’s Management Division’s
comprehensive plan to establish complete and effective
management controls for all of the FBI's records.
Please
direct questions about this schedule to either the
National Press Office at 202-324-3691 or to the
Life Cycle Management Division of the National Archives
and Records Administration at (301) 837-3560.
