National Archives and Records Administration
General Records Schedule
GRS Transmittal No. 19
January 07, 2008
TO: Heads of Federal agencies
1. What does this document do?
GRS Transmittal 19 transmits a revised General Records Schedule (GRS) 26, which provides disposition authorities for records of Temporary Commissions, Boards, Councils, and Committees. The General Records Schedules provide mandatory disposition instructions for temporary administrative and certain permanent records common to several Federal agencies.
2. What changes have been made to GRS 26?
Item 2 covering Records Created by Advisory Commissions, Committees, Councils, Boards, and Other Groups Established under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) has been revised to update the description of the records and to set the age of destruction for temporary records at 3 years. It now also includes coverage of records of formal and informal subcommittees or subgroups of advisory committees under the permanent sub-item. In addition, the explanatory notes with this item are being updated to reflect current handling practices and guidance. No changes were made to items 1, 3 and 4. Former item 5, Electronic Mail and Word Processing Copies, has been removed, per NARA Bulletin 2006-04.
3. Do I have to take any action to implement this GRS change?
NARA regulations (36 CFR 1228.50(d)) require agencies to disseminate GRS changes within 6 months of receipt. You must follow the provisions of this GRS unless your agency has disposition instructions previously approved by NARA AND you have previously informed NARA that you intended to continue using the agency schedule. If you wish to apply a retention period that differs from that specified in the GRS, or you have FACA committee records other than those described in the GRS, you must submit a Standard Form (SF) 115, Request for Disposition Authority, to NARA for approval.
4. How do I get copies of the new GRS?
We are posting a set on our web site (http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/ardor/records-schedules.html). GRS 26 is available for downloading in HTML, MS Word, and PDF formats.
5. Whom do I contact for further information?
a. NARA's Life Cycle Management Division provides assistance and advice to agency records officers in the Washington, DC, area. Your agency's records officer may contact the NARA appraiser or records analyst with whom your agency normally works. A list of the appraisal and scheduling work groups is posted on the NARA web site at:
http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/appraisal/.
b. The Records Management staff in NARA's regional offices provides assistance to records officers across the country. A complete list of NARA regional facilities may be found at:
http://www.archives.gov/locations/index.html.
ALLEN WEINSTEIN
Archivist of the United States
