IARA: Manage Records

Retention Schedules | Publications, Policies, Forms & Laws | Training | Find a State Records Coordinator

Records management is the organized approach to creating, maintaining, and disposing of records in a way that supports accountability, efficiency, and compliance. It involves ensuring that records—whether paper or digital—are accurate, accessible, secure, and retained for the appropriate length of time. We have three program areas to assist you with records management:

To learn more, browse through the following resources or use our "How do I...." FAQ below. Have questions or not sure where to start? Reach out!

State agencies | County/Local offices | Electronic Records

To determine how long you need to keep, or retain, records review all relevant retention schedules and find a record series that fits the contents of your records. There are retention schedules for State agencies and retention schedules for County/Local offices so be sure to review the ones applicable to you. You can also search across all retention schedules on our record series search page. Once you find a record series that fits, review the retention period information to learn how long to keep your records and if they are eligible for transfer to the Records Center or Indiana Archives.

When in doubt, reach out! State agencies can email rmd@iara.in.gov and County/Local offices can email cty@iara.in.gov. Please provide a brief description of the records and/or an example if feasible (please do not attach confidential records to an email). Our staff will review and may ask for additional information before providing a recommendation based on the information you provide.

There are two types of retention schedules used in Indiana government - agency or office specific and general. You can find all retention schedules by following the links below. Or, to search across all schedules visit our record series search page. Want to learn more about what records retention schedules are? Visit Overview on Records Retention Schedules.

State retention schedules - agency specific and general.
County/Local retention schedules - office specific and general

If you wish to change your agency or office specific retention schedule, please email rmd@iara.in.gov (State) or cty@iara.in.gov (County/Local) to begin the process. Provide a brief description of your suggested changes, the record series numbers (if known), and we will be in touch. If you are with a State agency, make sure to loop your agency Records Coordinator in before you reach out to us.

For a more in-depth description of the process, please review the Records Management Handbook (State) or the Records Custodian Handbook (County/Local). Still have questions about the process? Let us know by reaching out to one of the addresses above!

Managing electronic records is all about the content of the records. Just like with paper records, first determine the kinds of records you have and then find where they are on a records retention schedule. To learn more about electronic records, please review the Electronic Records Guidelines or reach out to our Electronic Records Archivists at erecords@iara.in.gov!

Do you have specific questions? Check out one of our handy topic-specific guides!

We offer training on a wide variety of topics. Not seeing something that meets your needs in our pre-recorded offerings? Get in touch and we'll be happy to provide an in-person or virtual training customized to your needs. Email rmd@iara.in.gov for State agencies and cty@iara.in.gov for County/Local offices.

You can transfer paper and electronic records to the Indiana Archives, as long as they are eligible for transfer. To determine eligibility, determine where the records fall on a records retention schedule. To learn more about transferring records to the Archives, please see Transfer Records. To learn more about records retention schedules, please see our overview.

There are several methods of destruction for records including but not limited to shredding, pulping, and incineration. Always ensure you are destroying confidential records appropriately, and that you are only destroying those records that are eligible for destruction. To learn more please review our Destroy Records page and our Guide to Responsible Records Destruction.