White House Requires Agencies to Implement Electronic Recordkeeping

Electronic Records

On August 24, the Office of Management and Budget and the Archivist of the United States issued a directive that requires all executive offices and federal agencies to eliminate paper and implement electronic recordkeeping for all records, regardless of security classification. The directive, which was required by a November 2011 Presidential Memorandum that outlined an effort to reform federal records management policies and practices, seeks to improve agencies’ compliance with federal records management statutes and regulations. The directive states that by the end of 2013, each agency must develop a plan to achieve electronic management of all permanent electronic records by the end of 2019. By the end of 2016, all agencies must manage email records in an electronic system that supports records management and litigation requirements. The National Archives and Records Administration will revise transfer guidance for permanent electronic records, issue new email management guidance, and support research in applied technologies to facilitate electronic records management. The Archivist will facilitate the initiative by leading a group of federal entities and private sector leaders in information technology, legal counsel, and records management to solve electronic records management challenges.