Before any record is destroyed at the end of its retention period, there must be written authorization from the division that transferred the records.
- The Records Management Office (RMO) receives a notice of destruction from the Federal Records Center in San Bruno for records that have met the legal retention.
- RMO notifies the Records Liaison Officer from the originating division of the records which are up for destruction and requests authorization.
- It is critical that divisions respond to the request within two weeks of receiving notification from RMO. Maintaining records past the legal retention can make them discoverable in litigation.
- The only exceptions to keeping records longer than the retention are for legal and audit requirements, or for R&D records that are needed for future research. The Records Management Office requires a justification in writing as to why the records cannot be destroyed.
Please call (510) 486-5525 or send email to records@lbl.gov for more information.