How to Retire, Ship and Retrieve Official Records   

Updated 09/12/06

Offices are required to maintain adequate and proper documentation of their organization, activities, and functions.  Records may be destroyed and/or transferred to the Washington National Records Center (WNRC) or regional Federal Records Centers only in accordance with a records control schedule approved by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).  This may be the General Records Schedules (GRS) or the record schedule(s) for your office or operating unit. 

The following information provides instructions for transferring, shipping and retrieving records to and from  the Washington National Records Center.

I.    Steps for preparing records for archiving to the WNRC

Review files and determine, using GRS and/or RCS, those official records eligible for retirement.

Obtain Federal Records Center storage boxes from the ITA Records Management Officer, Room 4001 and pack boxes in accordance with ITA Administrative Instruction 6-9.  NOTE: Only these boxes can be used to transfer records.  Moving boxes are not acceptable.

Letter size files must be placed in the record boxes in order by name, number or date facing the front of the box.

Legal-size files must be placed in record boxes in order by name, number or date facing the left side of the box.

Correctly assemble the boxes, ensuring that the inside flap that is to be pushed down to the bottom of the box is positioned correctly so as to ensure that the bottom of the box will securely support the weight of the records.

Obtain form SF-135, "Records Transmittal and Receipt", from "Ourplace" at http://ourplace.ita.doc.gov.  Complete items "d" through "i" of the SF-135 (see sample). Please be sure to include a point of contact and a telephone number on the form.

E-mail the completed SF-135 and Supplemental Box Listing to the RMO at Nina.Harris@mail.doc.gov . The RMO will complete the SF 135 with an accession number and e-mail the SF-135 to the Washington National Records Center (WNRC) for approval.

Upon approval, the WNRC will email the RMO the document with an approval statement on it. The Records Management Officer will email the approved SF-135 to the originator.

Using the information from the approved SF 135, fill in the accession number and box number in the appropriate blank spaces provided on each packing box.  (You must use a black felt tip marker and the numbers should be 1 1/2 inches high)

The originator will print this copy and place it into box 1 of the accession. (Please keep one copy for your files).

II. Shipping Boxes to the WNRC

Offices are responsible for arranging for the shipment of their records to the Washington National Records Center (WNRC).  The procedures for this are:

Place a copy of the approved SF 135 (without the attached box list) in the first box of the accession.  If several accessions are being shipped at the same time, place each SF 135 in the first box of the accession to which it relates.

Tape all the seams of the box on the top and bottom.  DO NOT TAPE OVER THE ACCESSION OR BOX NUMBERS ON THE  FRONT OF THE BOX.

Prepare and place an address label on first box of the accession in the shipment (if more than one accession in the shipment, prepare label for first box of each accession).  The HCHB mailroom will use this label to generate bar coded mailing labels for all of the boxes in the shipment.  The address is:

                                    Washington National Records Center

                                    4205 Suitland Road

                                    Suitland, MD 20746-8001

Prepare and place your return address label on all boxes in the shipment.

After the above is completed, call the mailroom at 482-4447 for pickup of the records.  The boxes will be shipped via FedEx Ground Service.  The two digit mail code used for shipping boxes to the WNRC is code 26.  

This service cannot be used for security classified records, which must be shipped using the U.S. Postal Service and in accordance with the packaging and security requirements appropriate to the classification level of the records. Please contact the Records Management Officer before shipping any  security classified records.

 III.  Retrieving Records from the WNRC

Files transferred to the Washington National Records Center (WNRC) are easily retrieved.  When requesting a box or file folder please provide the Records Management Officer the following information:

• the accession number (from the SF-135)

• the box number(s) (from the SF-135)

• file folder title(s) from the supplemental box list

For Additional information, contact Nina Harris at 202-482-3585 or e-mail Nina.Harris@mail.doc.gov.