The Records Retention Schedule is a diocesan policy that lists all the records commonly maintained by archdiocesan parishes and describes how long they must be kept and what to do with them at the end of that period.

• It applies to records in all formats (paper, photographs, electronic files, etc.) and in all storage locations (including file cabinets, cloud storage, email servers, web applications, and mobile devices).

• The following guidelines are meant to help you understand how to apply retention policies to the records of your office or work area.

1. Orient Yourself

a) First familiarize yourself with how the retention schedule is organized. Records are grouped together by the administrative functions they relate to, not by the type/format of records (i.e., correspondence, reports) or by office or ministry creating them. For example, there are sections of the schedule devoted to financial administration, personnel management, liturgy, etc.

b) Each of these 15 functional areas is broken down into sub-categories to make it easier to find the exact policies that apply to the records you are looking up. From the example below, you can see that records produced through the Financial Administration function are divided into 7 sub-categories.

c) Policies relating to individual records series are found within these sub-categories.

Example:   FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION

- Accounting
- Authorization
- Banking
- Budget Development
- Development & Fundraising
- Payroll
- Tax

2. Match Records to the Appropriate Policy in the Schedule

a) Think about the records you have a question about in terms of the work function they relate to, and then match them to the closest sub-category within that area.

Example:   Wondering how long to keep old time sheets? These have to do with paying employees (a financial activity), so you would first refer to the Financial Management section of the schedule. Drilling down a bit, which sub-category within the Financial section do they specifically pertain to? (ANSWER: Payroll)

b) Once you’ve identified the right section, scroll down to that part of the schedule until you find the correct record category ("series”). Don’t just rely on series titles though. In a lot of cases, you will need to read the series descriptions because often several types of related records have been grouped together into one series.

Example:    Continuing from the example above, there are 5 types of payroll records listed in the schedule. Read through them, and you will find the last one is “Timecards.”  Eureka!

c) Now refer to the retention period (how long to keep the records) and disposition policy (what to do with the records when they’ve expired) for that particular record series.

3. Understand the retention periods and disposition types

a) Retention periods have 2 parts. Think of them as the “trigger” and the “countdown.”

• The trigger, the first part, tells you when to start counting down to the expiration date. These are usually time-based (end of fiscal year; end of calendar year), but sometimes they’re event-based (sale of building, end of project, etc.).

• The second part of the retention period is the countdown. This just tells you how many years after the trigger you need to keep the records.

Examples:

• Fiscal year + 6 means retain for 6 years after the fiscal year in which record was created.
• Calendar year + 1 Retain for 1 year after the calendar year in which record was created.

b) Dispositions policies tell you what to do with the records after their retention period has expired. There are 5 disposition types for school records.

• • Shred: Records contain private/sensitive information.
  • Recycle: Records do not contain private/sensitive information.
  • Delete: Means just that!
  • Archives: Records have long-term value to the Archdiocese and need to be securely stored in your archives, whether physical or electronic.
  • Archival Review: Consult someone in Chancery Archives to make a final determination.

There are no retention requirements for the following types of materials. These can be disposed of as soon as they have served their immediate purpose. Shred, recycle, or delete as appropriate. 

Document Errors 

• Incorrect versions of documents, forms, or reports that had to be recreated to correct errors in typing, data entry, spelling, grammar, or format 
  

Drafts and Working Materials   

• Preliminary or incomplete drafts that do not contain significant comments, approvals, or substantial changes that give insight into the development of the final version. Can be disposed of when a subsequent draft or finished records has been developed.
  

Duplicates  

• Extra copies used only for reference or informational distribution    
• Electronic documents which are used to produce a hard copy (official) version which is maintained in the hard copy files  
• Email CCs (carbon copies) and BCCs (blind carbon copies) where you have been copied for informational purposes only and are not expected to take action yourself  
  

External Materials 

• Publications, promotional material, etc. from external sources once these have served their purpose. 
  

Information or Forms Used to Create or Update another Record 

• Will become obsolete once the update or data entry is validated.  
• Includes paper forms where the data is entered into an electronic system, spreadsheet, or database.
  

 Informal Communications or Notifications 

• Can take many forms (e.g. email messages, chat messages in online collaboration tools, social media postings, facsimile [fax], voice/video message recordings). 
• Acknowledgements, form-letter thank you notes 
• Announcements of meetings or social events 
• Answers to routine requests for information do not require administrative action or policy decisions 
• Memos and postings that do not relate to the main purpose or responsibilities of an office 
• Personal communications 
• Requests to call someone 
• Reservations, confirmations, itineraries 

When litigation, an audit, or investigation occurs or is reasonably anticipated, a written notice (referred to as a “Litigation Hold Notice” or “Legal Hold”) will be issued to appropriate staff. All records, whether official records, information copies, working documents, or transitory records, potentially relevant to the matter must be retained until the Litigation Hold is terminated. The effect of this notice is to freeze or suspend the destruction or alteration of records, electronically stored information, and other materials identified in the notice.  

Records relevant to the matter may not be destroyed – even if the retention period in this retention schedule has expired or expires during the Litigation Hold – until the action is resolved and a notice terminating the Hold has been issued. There are serious legal consequences for individuals that destroy or alter records under a Litigation Hold or know of a pending issue and do not halt destruction.  

This is an at-a-glance tool to help staff, volunteers, and IT support quickly identify the permanent records of your parish. It is NOT a substitute for using the Records Retention Schedule for Parishes and Faith Communities, which describes retention and disposal requirements for all parish records.   

For more information, please refer to the parish retention schedule or contact a records manager at archives@seattlearch.org. 

Accident Prevention/Safety Manuals 

Final, adopted versions 

Board, Committee, Council & Lay Group Records  

• Constitutions & bylaws 
• Meeting agendas, minutes, handouts, surveys, and audio or video recordings.
  

Cemetery Records 

• Burial indexes/registers 
• Cemetery lot cards 
• Maps and plats 
• Plot or interment purchase forms and agreements
  

Community Outreach Records  

• Program descriptions – records documenting the mission or vision, board or members, charter, target audience, and primary activities.
  

Design & Construction Records 

• Blueprints and architectural plans 
• Construction project files (records of planning and design phase, permitting and approval, inspection and quality control, and completion and close out of parish building projects)
  

Establishing Records 

• Articles of incorporation 
• Canonical appointments 
• Decrees of establishment 
• Power of attorney
  

Financial Records 

• Audit Reports 
• Bequests, Trusts, and Endowments 
• Budgets, final 
• General Ledgers 
• Payroll Registers (predating the era of a centralized payroll system)
  

Hazardous Material Records 

• Abatement documentation 
• Asbestos reports 
• Safety data sheets (MSDs) 
  

Legal Records 

• Legal counsel’s advice and opinions  
• Litigation work product files  
  

Liturgy Records 

• Calendar of liturgies 
• Liturgical minister’s schedule 
• Liturgy planning materials/mass scripts – Records used in the preparation of materials for use in major liturgical celebrations 
• Parish worship aids 
• Repertory calendar  
• Theatrical/music programs
  

Marketing Records - For parish programs, services, and events 

• Advertisements  
• Audio/Video recordings  
• Brochures  
• Catalogs  
• Direct Mailings  
• Films and presentations  
• Fliers
• Logo designs 
• Posters 
• Print and digital Images   
  

Parish Publications & Memorabilia  

• Anniversary books and videos 
• Historical newspaper clippings 
• Historical photographs 
• Newsletters, bulletins, newspapers, periodicals, and mass mailings produced by the parish
• Parish directories 
• Scrapbooks 
• Websites (capture before major content change)
  

Parishioner Registrations 

May be paper or electronic. Paper records may only be shredded if the registration information has been entered into an approved data system. 

Pastors and PAA Correspondence

Includes email mailboxes in addition to paper correspondence.

Personnel Files, Employees & Volunteers – May include, but not limited to the following: 

• Academic transcripts 
• Background Checks, positive criminal history results 
• Confidentiality agreements 
• Continuing education certificates  
• Correspondence and memos
• Employee dispute resolution records (if employee is terminated) 
• Employee policy agreements  
• HIPAA training certificates 
• Lay off/severance notification letter  
• Letters of reference
• Pay rate/history  
• Performance evaluations 
• Personnel action forms  
• Personnel status tracking records  
• Resume/application materials
• Safe environment training proof of completion (before July 2015) 
• Terminated parish employee checklist & supporting documentation

Policies, Guidelines, Procedures 

Final approved policy documents developed and implemented by parishes.  

Public Statements 

• Press Releases
  

Records Destruction Certificates 

Records certifying the physical disposal/deletion of records that have completed their retention period. 

Research & Planning Records

• Census data 
• Parish Annual Reports 
• Surveys, studies, reports, & recommendations
  

Sacramental Records 

• Hard copy sacramental registers and companion files  
• Marriage Packets/prenuptial documents 
  

Sexual Abuse/Misconduct Notifications 

Includes, but not limited to, letters, electronic messaging (emails, text messages, voice messages), and documentation of verbal conversations. 

Training Records 

Training materials, final version – (for workshops, classes, orientations, or seminars put on by the parish. May include, but not limited to course curricula, reference publications).

The following information is from Human Resources at the Archdiocese of Seattle:

Personnel files should contain:

• Safe Environment Program Church Personnel Agreement
• CICS background check, completed within the last 3 years
• HR Policies Agreement Form
• Employee emergency contact information
• Documentation of the current fiscal year employee pay rate (authorized, amount, effective date, reason)
• Documentation of current Safe Environment Training

For regular employees and temporary employees on benefits, the file is also to contain:

• Letter of Employment Agreement
• Job description, signed by the employee and supervisor
• Performance evaluation completed within the last year

Form I-9 Employment Eligibility forms should not be filed in employee files, but rather in a separate binder or file.