Federal Records

Documenting Your Public Service

The “Documenting Your Public Service” guide provides all Government employees, including senior agency officials and political appointees, with information regarding their responsibilities for managing Federal records. Knowledge of this guidance and careful advance planning will aid employees throughout their Federal service. This guide identifies record-keeping responsibilities and explains how to distinguish Federal records from other recorded information, including personal materials.

Federal records are important business assets with continuing value in protecting the rights and interests of the public, holding officials accountable for their actions, and documenting our nation’s history. Government employees create and maintain Federal records as an integral part of their responsibilities.

Instituting good record-keeping practices helps agencies:

minimize costs and operate more efficiently;
improve performance, transparency, and accountability by documenting actions and decisions; and
identify and transfer permanently valuable historical records to the National Archives of the United States.

This guide does not apply to Presidential records created under the Presidential Records Act (PRA). Presidential records are managed separately from Federal records. Questions related to determining whether or not documentary materials are Presidential records should be referred to the White House Counsel.

Transition Specific Briefing Materials

When preparing for the entrance and exit of political appointees, agencies should:

start as early as possible in each phase of service,
integrate records management training into existing practices and procedures; and
ensure the removal of any material by an individual is cleared by the appropriate staff.

It is important to remember the records and information you created and received in the course of your official duties must remain under control of the agency. By following Federal records management requirements, official actions and decisions can be documented and preserved for future generations.

NARA has produced four guidance products to assist agencies and political appointees during the transition:

The publication Documenting Your Public Service (DYPS) describes the responsibilities all government employees must follow for managing the Federal records they create or receive. DYPS includes guidance on determining what is a Federal record, managing electronic messages and social media accounts, determining what are personal materials, and more.

The video features an introduction from the Archivist of the United States and describes what political appointees should know when they enter, while they work, and when they leave Federal service. The video is available on NARA’s Records Management YouTube channel.

The handout is a one page summary of the points made in the video briefing. This can be distributed throughout your agency to share with political appointees. The Model Federal Records and Information Management Entrance and Exit Checklists describe basic common records management responsibilities and tasks all individuals should complete when entering or leaving Federal service.