Records Audits and Freezes

There are circumstances when records are subject to an audit, investigation, or litigation which prevent them from being discarded until the audit, investigation, or litigation concludes. These situations may occur before or after the records are placed in storage.

Before records stored at a federal records center (FRC) are destroyed, a notice of intent to destroy is sent to the agency or office responsible for the records. At NIH, the IC Records Liaison must confirm that records are not subject to an audit, investigation, litigation, or other event requiring continued retention of the records.

When government-wide records freezes are instituted, you must include a statement on every Standard Form 135 (SF-135), Records Transmittal and Receipt, indicating whether the records being transferred pertain to active records freezes and holds.

Below is a list of required records declarations (as of May 2007) to be included on the SF-135 in Item 6(f) – Series Description. The statement must indicate whether the records are related to the specific subject. The statement must include the name of the individual responsible for the accuracy of the statement. This individual may be you, a principal investigator, IC Records Liaison, or other person familiar with the records.

All Records: Records Freezes

• Hurricane Katrina Records – All records related to Hurricane Katrina, resulting flooding, or its aftermath must be retained, preserved, and maintained until further notice. Include the following statement:
• These records are/are not Katrina related.
  Name of Responsible Party
• Tobacco Records – All records related to smoking tobacco, the tobacco industry and tobacco products, and research on the health effects of smoking, smoking cessation programs, and nicotine addiction are frozen and must be identified and retained indefinitely. Include the following statement:
• These records are/are not tobacco related.
  Name of Responsible Party

All Records: Records Holds

• Prescription Drug-Pricing Records – All records related to prescription drug-pricing are currently on hold and must be retained until further notice by the Department of Justice (DOJ). Include the following statement:
• These records are/are not related to prescription drug-pricing.
  Name of Responsible Party

Site Audit Records

• Site Audit Records – If records have been designated by the General Accounting Office (GAO) as site audit records, include the following statement:
• GAO Site Audit: These records pertain/do not pertain to Native Americans.
  Name of Responsible Party

National Institutes of Health
Office of Management Assessment | Management Support | Records Management
Last Updated May 16, 2007 | Contact Us