Records Management

Managing recorded information is an important responsibility of every Federal agency. Title 44 U.S.C. 2901 defines records management as “the managerial activities involved with respect to records creation, records maintenance and use, and records disposition in order to achieve adequate and proper documentation of the policies and transactions of the Federal government and effective and economical management of agency operations."

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) (archives.gov) provides Federal government oversight and policy for records management and the archiving of Federal records. NARA, in their oversight capacity, has provided the Federal Agencies with a General Records Schedule (GRS) (archives.gov) which provides disposition instructions for many commonly occurring records in the Federal agencies. It is HHS policy to use NARA's GRS whenever possible for disposition instructions concerning HHS records. For records that are not covered by NARA's GRS, HHS Operating Division's follow NARA approved records schedules for their Operating Division.

HHS Records Management Policy

HHS Policy for Records Management