Attach 4. NARA Universal ERM Requirements.xlsx
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About this file
This file is the NARA Universal Electronic Records Management (ERM) Requirements, Version 3, a comprehensive standards document established by the National Archives and Records Administration to guide federal agencies and vendors in managing electronic records throughout their lifecycle. The document serves as a baseline for agencies implementing records management programs and helps vendors develop ERM tools and capabilities. It is organized into six lifecycle phases: Capture, Maintenance and Use, Disposal, Transfer, Metadata, and Reporting. Requirements are designated as either "Must Have" (mandatory) or "Should Have" (preferred) and are categorized as either "Program" requirements (relating to agency policies and procedures) or "System" requirements (providing technical guidance to vendors). The document addresses multiple record types including office management applications, electronic messages, social media, websites, photographs, digital audio and video, structured data, and shared drives. Vendors on the GSA Multiple Award Schedule Electronic Records Management Solutions Special Item Number 518210ERM must self-certify compliance with these requirements.
The Universal ERM Requirements encompass detailed specifications across all lifecycle phases, including requirements for capturing reliable and authentic records with appropriate metadata; maintaining records usability through system migrations and format conversions; disposing of records securely in compliance with approved schedules; transferring permanent records to NARA in prescribed formats with complete documentation; managing comprehensive metadata to preserve content, context, and structure; and generating compliance reports. The document includes separate tabs for digitization requirements for both temporary and permanent records, with specific technical standards such as image quality parameters, compression codecs, metadata embedding, and validation processes. Version 3, released June 23, 2023, incorporates recent regulations for digitization and updated definitions for electronic messages. The requirements reference applicable CFR regulations, NARA bulletins, ISO standards, and federal statutes. The document explicitly excludes guidance on classified federal records but provides a link to additional resources for that specialized area.
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Abstract
Universal Electronic Records Management Requirements, Version 3
The National Archives and Records Administration's (NARA) Requirements Working Group (RWG) created the Universal Electronic Records Management (ERM) Requirements to:
| 1. provide standards for agencies and existing Shared Services functional areas to manage their electronic records; |
| 2. help vendors determine capabilities for their ERM tools; |
| 3. help agencies identify the best tools to procure for their needs. |
The requirements are intended to be a baseline for agencies. Agencies will likely have specific requirements to add.
The requirements have six sections based on the lifecycle of electronic records management. Please refer to the Glossary tab for their definitions.
| 1. Capture |
| 2. Maintenance and Use |
| 3. Disposal |
| 4. Transfer |
| 5. Metadata |
| 6. Reporting |
The requirements for digitization are separated into Digitization Requirements for Permanent Records and Digitization Requirements for Temporary Records. The Digitization Requirements for Permanent Records currently address the standards for digitizing permanent paper records and photographic prints. When agencies follow these standards, they may transfer the digitized records to NARA and destroy the source records according to an approved records schedule.
These requirements address born-digital and digitized analog records. The requirements are either “program” requirements, relating to the design and implementation of an agency’s ERM policies and procedures, or “system” requirements, providing technical guidance to vendors in creating ERM tools and specifications for agencies to consider when procuring them. Users of this document can filter on "program" or "system" requirements as needed. This could be helpful in finding a list of requirements a system needs to manage electronic records.
The requirements are either mandatory (“Must Have”) or preferred (“Should Have”). These designations help vendors determine what functions their tools must perform, as opposed to those that are ideal. “Must Have” and “Should Have” requirements also help agencies prioritize procurement of these ERM tools according to their needs and financial priorities.
While automation is not required, agencies should make it a goal to automate their processes as much as possible. Workflow requirements, while not included here, help support the integration and automation of document management and records management at each point in the records lifecycle. They can be added to automate the collection, storage, management, editing, removal, routing, and categorization of documents within an organization and can also enable the ability to communicate these various stages and manage records as part of daily work.
If a record type is not listed, review all of the requirements.
The requirements represent cross-cutting perspectives from multiple federal agencies. Vendors on GSA’s Multiple Award Schedule Electronic Records Management Solutions Special Item Number 518210ERM must self-certify they meet these requirements to be added to the procurement offerings. Agencies should consider it an authoritative source when making purchasing decisions.
NARA's Electronic Records Management Federal Integrated Business Framework (ERM-FIBF) is based on these requirements. The Business Lifecycle and Business Capabilities, Business Use Cases, Standard Data Elements, and Services Measures of the FIBF describe the requirements in more detail.
Note: The Universal ERM Requirements do not specifically address classified federal records. For more information on classified records, see https://www.archives.gov/files/isoo/policy-documents/isoo-implementing-directive.pdf.
| Version | Date | Change Description | Author of Change |
| 1 | 8/4/17 | Version 1 released. | NARA |
| 2 | 4/6/20 | Version 2 released. Incorporated feedback from agencies and NARA. | NARA |
| 3 | 6/23/23 | Version 3 released. Incorporated regulations for the digitization of temporary and permanent records. | NARA |
NARA Universal Electronic Records Management Requirements, Version 3 https://www.gsaelibrary.gsa.gov/ElibMain/sinDetails.do?scheduleNumber=MAS&specialItemNumber=518210ERM&executeQuery=YEShttps://ussm.gsa.gov/fibf-ERM/ Change Log
| Version | Change Number | Section | Requirement ID | Change Description |
| 3 | 031 | Glossary | Updated definitions in glossary to clarify several items. | |
| 3 | 030 | Glossary | Added new definition of "electronic messages" to align with updates in 36 CFR Chapter 12, Part 1220.18. | |
| 3 | 029 | Digitization Requirements for Temporary Records | Added a new tab for requirements for digitzing temporary federal records. | |
| 3 | 028 | Digitization Requirements for Permanent Records | Added a new tab for requirements for digitzing permanent federal records. | |
| 3 | 027 | Transfer Format Requirements | Removed the Transfer Format Requirements tab as it is covered by 4.08 in the Lifecycle Requirements. The authoritative source is the Table of File Formats at https://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/policy/transfer-guidance-tables.html | |
| 3 | 026 | Lifecycle Requirements | Consolidated the record type columns. | |
| 3 | 025 | Lifecycle Requirements | 5.01 | Added a new requirement to Metadata Lifecycle Phase: “Agencies must capture, manage, and preserve metadata associated with electronic records to support content, context, and structure is preserved.” Renumbered subsequent requirements. |
| 3 | 024 | Lifecycle Requirements | 4.02 | Removed "Agencies must transfer electronic records in a format that is independent of specific hardware or software" as it was covered by the "Agencies must transfer permanent records to NARA in accordance with the preferred and acceptable file formats outlined in NARA Bulletin 2014-04, Appendix A: Table of File Formats" requirement. Renumbered subsequent requirements. |
| 3 | 023 | Lifecycle Requirements | 0.02 | Added a new requirement to Full Lifecycle “Agencies must capture, manage, and preserve electronic records with appropriate metadata and must be able to access and retrieve electronic records, including electronic messages, through electronic searches.” Renumbered subsequent requirements. |
| 3 | 022 | Lifecycle Requirements | 0.05; 2.13; 2.14 | Added all record types to the following requirements as cloud services was removed as a record type. |
| 3 | 021 | Lifecycle Requirements | 1.13 | Added Expanded Capstone bulletin references. |
| 3 | 020 | Lifecycle Requirements, Transfer Requirements, and Glossary tabs | Removed cloud services as a record type from the Lifecycle Requirements and Glossary tabs as any type of record could be cloud services. | |
| 3 | 019 | Abstract | Expanded scope to include digitized analog records in addition to born-digital electronic records; explained the addition of Digitization Requirements for Temporary and Permanent Records; added automation and workflow language; added links to GSA's Multiple Award Schedule Special Item Number 518210ERM and the Federal Integrated Business Framework for ERM. | |
| Version 2 released by NARA on April 6, 2020. Posted updated versions to fix numbering. | ||||
| 2 | 018 | Glossary | Updated terms and definitions to align with those cited in NARA regulations or policy. Added definition sources. | |
| 2 | 017 | Glossary | Added digital preservation language into the definition for Maintain & Use into the Glossary. | |
| 2 | 016 | Glossary | Updated definition of Shared Drives in the glossary tab to include SharePoint and Google Drive as examples of shared drives. | |
| 2 | 015 | Transfer Format Requirements | TF.26 | Added the calendar format to the "Transfer Format Requirements" tab. |
| 2 | 014 | Lifecycle Requirements | 6.02; 6.03 | Changed requirements from "must have" to "should have." |
| 2 | 013 | Lifecycle Requirements | 0.06; 1.09; 2.01; 2.18; 2.20; 3.01; 3.02; 3.03; 3.04; 4.04; 5.06 | Updated authorities with "must have" requirements that pointed to "Requirements Working Group" to a regulation citation. |
| 2 | 012 | Lifecycle Requirements | 3.05 | Updated language. |
| 2 | 011 | Lifecycle Requirements | 2.23 | Added a new requirement 2.23: "The records system must allow agencies to identify and categorize any records considered essential." |
| 2 | 010 | Lifecycle Requirements | 2.21 | Added a new requirement 2.21: "Agencies should have the ability to configure workflows based on an organization’s business process rules and transactional data, without custom programming." |
| 2 | 009 | Lifecycle Requirements | 2.19 | Added a new requirement 2.19: "Records must be managed in a manner to support export of records to facilitate access processing under the FOIA or for the purposes of proactive release." |
| 2 | 008 | Lifecycle Requirements | 2.07 | Added a new requirement 2.07, "Agencies should have a records sustainability plan to maintain records over time." For more information, see: https://github.com/usnationalarchives/digital-preservation/blob/master/Digital%20Audio%20Formats/NARA_PreservationActionPlan_DigitalAudio_20190801.pdf |
| 2 | 007 | Lifecycle Requirements | 2.02 | Added a new requirement and authoritatives sources to address FOIA. New 2.02: "Records should be managed in a manner that allows the searches to be saved for the purposes of supporting sufficiency of search under FOIA." |
| 2 | 006 | Lifecycle Requirements | 1.08 | Removed 1.08 as it was a duplicate requirement. Renumbered subsequent requirements. |
| 2 | 005 | Lifecycle Requirements | 1.02 | Updated requirement, "A record is considered reliable if it ensures a full and accurate representation of the transactions or activities." |
| 2 | 004 | Lifecycle Requirements | 0.03; 0.06 | Combined 0.03 and 0.06 into 0.05. Renumbered subsequent requirements. |
| 2 | 003 | Abstract | Updated GSA schedule language on Consolidated Multiple Award Schedules. | |
| 2 | 002 | Abstract | Updated Abstract with a link to guidance on classified records. | |
| 2 | 001 | Abstract | Revised Abstract to clarify what the Universal ERM Requirements are and how they should be used. | |
| Version 1 released by NARA August 4, 2017. |
NARA Universal Electronic Records Management Requirements, Version 3 https://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/policy/transfer-guidance-tables.html Lifecycle Requirements
| Req ID | Requirement Text | Lifecycle Phase | Req Type | Priority | Source | Office Management Applications | Electronic Messages | Social Media | Websites | Photographs | Digital Audio and Video | Structured Data | Shared Drives |
| 0.01 | Agencies must manage all electronic records including all recorded information, regardless of form or characteristics, made or received by a federal agency as evidence of the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations, or other activities of the US Government. | Full Lifecycle | Program | Must Have | 44 USC 3301 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 0.02 | Agencies must capture, manage, and preserve electronic records with appropriate metadata and must be able to access and retrieve electronic records, including electronic messages, for as long as needed. | Full Lifecycle | Program | Must Have | 36 CFR 1222.26 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 0.03 | Agencies should monitor and review access rights and permission rules for electronic records regularly; these access rights and permission rules should be updated on a regular basis. | Full Lifecycle | Program | Should Have | ISO 15489-1:2016, Section 8.4 Access and permission rules | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 0.04 | Agencies should regularly monitor and evaluate their records controls. | Full Lifecycle | Program | Should Have | ISO 15489-1:2016, Section 6.4 Monitoring and evaluation | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 0.05 | Agencies retain responsibility for managing their electronic records, regardless of whether they reside in a public, private, or community cloud; a contracted environment; or under the agency's physical control. | Full Lifecycle | Program | Must Have | NARA Bulletin 2010-05: Cloud Computing | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 0.06 | Agencies must have controls for file integrity monitoring to prevent unauthorized use, alteration, concealment, or deletion of records. Examples of controls include checksums, audit trails, access lists, monitoring, and agent validation. Monitoring documentation include audit reports and the results of integrity checks. | Full Lifecycle | System | Must Have | 36 CFR 1236.10 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 0.07 | Agencies must be responsible for monitoring changes to third-party terms of service that may affect the management of records. | Full Lifecycle | Program | Must Have | ISO 15489-1:2016, Section 6.4 Monitoring and evaluation | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 1.01 | A record must be able to provide adequate and proper documentation of agency business for as long as the information is needed. | 1. Capture | System | Must Have | 36 CFR 1236.10 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 1.02 | A record is considered reliable if it ensures a full and accurate representation of the transactions or activities. | 1. Capture | System | Must Have | 36 CFR 1236.10 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 1.03 | A record is considered reliable if it can be depended upon in the course of subsequent transactions or activities. | 1. Capture | System | Must Have | 36 CFR 1236.10 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 1.04 | A records is considered to have integrity if it is complete and protected from unauthorized addition, deletion, alteration, use, and concealment. | 1. Capture | System | Must Have | 36 CFR 1236.10 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 1.05 | A record is considered usable of it can be located, retrieved, presented, and interpreted. | 1. Capture | System | Must Have | 36 CFR 1236.10 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 1.06 | An authentic record is considered authoritative evidence of a transaction or event; records are authentic if they are what they claim to be. | 1. Capture | System | Must Have | ISO 15489-1:2016, Section 5.2 Records | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 1.07 | A record must be authentic to be considered authoritative evidence of a transaction or event; records are authentic if they are created or sent by the agent claiming to have created or sent it. | 1. Capture | System | Must Have | ISO 15489-1:2016, Section 5.2 Records | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 1.08 | Once a record has been captured into a records system, all events and actions related to the record by person entities and non-person entities must be documented on an on-going basis. | 1. Capture | System | Must Have | ISO 15489-1:2016, Section 9.5 Access control | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 1.09 | All records must be associated with the approved records schedules that pertain to each record. | 1. Capture | System | Must Have | 36 CFR 1236.20 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 1.10 | Agencies are responsible for identifying what kind of social media output constitutes a federal record, and capturing those records appropriately. | 1. Capture | Program | Must Have | NARA Bulletin 2014-02: Social Media | X | |||||||
| 1.11 | Agencies should establish a Social Media Working Group to handle the special demands of managing federal records created through social media. | 1. Capture | Program | Should Have | NARA Bulletin 2014-02: Social Media | X | |||||||
| 1.12 | Agencies must analyze existing records schedules to determine if social media records are covered, and if not, develop an appropriate schedule. | 1. Capture | Program | Must Have | NARA Bulletin 2014-02: Social Media | X | |||||||
| 1.13 | Any agency business conducted through electronic messaging accounts are considered federal records and must be captured within 20 days. | 1. Capture | Program | Must Have | 44 U.S.C. § 2911; NARA Bulletin 2023-02: Expanded Role-Based Approach for Electronic Messages; NARA Bulletin 2015-02: Electronic Messages | X | |||||||
| 2.01 | Records of current and former employees must be managed in a manner that supports searching in response to information requests, including FOIA and agency business needs. | 2. Maintain & Use | System | Must Have | 5 U.S.C. § 552 (a)(3); Department of Justice Guide to the Freedom of Information Act Procedural Requirements | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 2.02 | Records should be managed in a manner that allows the searches to be saved for the purposes of supporting sufficiency of search under FOIA. | 2. Maintain & Use | System | Should Have | 5 U.S.C. § 552 (a)(3); Department of Justice Guide to the Freedom of Information Act Procedural Requirements | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 2.03 | Access rights and permission rules for records should be adjusted to coincide with changes to the legal/regulatory environment, to business activities, or to the structure of the organization. | 2. Maintain & Use | System | Should Have | ISO 15489-1:2016, Section 9.5 Access control | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 2.04 | Access rights and permission rules for records should be based on all regulatory requirements (CUI, National Security Classification, HIPAA) as well as the function, activity, or business process related to the records. | 2. Maintain & Use | System | Should Have | ISO 15489-1:2016, Section 8.4 Access and permission rules | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 2.05 | Any actions changing the level of access, altering the record, or changing the location of the record must be documented and tracked into an audit log. | 2. Maintain & Use | System | Must Have | ISO 15489-1:2016, Section 5.2 Records | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 2.06 | Records must be usable for as long as needed to conduct agency business. | 2. Maintain & Use | Program | Must Have | 36 CFR 1236.14 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 2.07 | Agencies should have a records sustainability plan to maintain records over time. | 2. Maintain & Use | Program | Should Have | 36 CFR 1236.14; 36 CFR 1236.20 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 2.08 | Ensuring usability of records means determining if the retention period for any records is longer than the life of the system where they are currently stored. | 2. Maintain & Use | Program | Must Have | 36 CFR 1236.14 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 2.09 | Ensuring usability of records includes converting records to usable formats and maintaining the link between the records and their metadata through the conversion process. | 2. Maintain & Use | Program | Must Have | 36 CFR 1236.14 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 2.10 | Ensuring usability of records includes planning for the migration of records to a new system before the current system is retired. | 2. Maintain & Use | Program | Must Have | 36 CFR 1236.14 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 2.11 | Ensuring usability of records includes ensuring that migration of records addresses non-active electronic records stored off-line. | 2. Maintain & Use | Program | Must Have | 36 CFR 1236.14 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 2.12 | Ensuring usability of records includes carrying out system upgrades of hardware and software while maintaining the functionality and integrity of the electronic records created in them. | 2. Maintain & Use | Program | Must Have | 36 CFR 1236.14 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 2.13 | If their cloud provider discontinues services, agencies must continue to meet their records management responsibilities by migrating the records to another system or repository. | 2. Maintain & Use | Program | Must Have | NARA Bulletin 2010-05: Cloud Computing | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 2.14 | The system receiving the migrated records must have appropriate security and records management controls in place to manage the records throughout the entire lifecycle, including preventing the unauthorized access or disposal of records. | 2. Maintain & Use | Program | Must Have | NARA Bulletin 2010-05: Cloud Computing | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 2.15 | Agency personnel must have proper authorization before removing federal records from government custody. | 2. Maintain & Use | Program | Must Have | NARA Bulletin 2013-03: Protecting Records | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 2.16 | Agency personnel must obtain approval from a designated official of the agency, such as the Agency Records Officer or General Counsel, before removing extra copies of records or other non-record materials from government custody. | 2. Maintain & Use | Program | Must Have | 36 CFR 1222.18 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 2.17 | Agencies must contact NARA of any actual, impending, or threatened unlawful removal, defacing, alteration, corruption, deletion, erasure, or other destruction of records in the custody of the agency. | 2. Maintain & Use | Program | Must Have | 44 USC 3106 (a) | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 2.18 | Agencies must continuously review their records schedules to determine if changes to their use of technology affects the value of the records in question. | 2. Maintain & Use | Program | Must Have | 36 CFR 1225.22 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 2.19 | Records must be managed in a manner to support export of records to facilitate access processing under the FOIA or for the purposes of proactive release. | 2. Maintain & Use | Program | Must Have | 5 U.S.C. § 552 (a)(2) | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 2.20 | Agencies must continuously review their records schedules to determine if changes to their business processes affects the value of the records in question. | 2. Maintain & Use | Program | Must Have | 36 CFR 1225.22 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 2.21 | Agencies should have the ability to configure workflows based on an organization’s business process rules and transactional data. | 2. Maintain & Use | System | Should Have | ISO 15489-1:2016, Section 5.3 Records Systems | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 2.22 | The records system should allow users to perform a full-text search of a record’s content. | 2. Maintain & Use | System | Should Have | 36 CFR 1236.20 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 2.23 | The records system must allow agencies to identify and categorize any records considered essential. | 2. Maintain & Use | System | Must Have | 36 CFR 1223.16 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 3.01 | Electronic records must be disposed of in a manner that protects any sensitive, proprietary, or national security information. Any recording media previously used for electronic records containing sensitive, proprietary, or national security information must not be reused if the previously recorded information can be compromised in any way by reuse of the media. | 3. Disposal | System | Must Have | 36 CFR 1226.24 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 3.02 | Agencies must control any proposed deletion of records pursuant to existing records schedules. | 3. Disposal | Program | Must Have | 36 CFR 1226.10 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 3.03 | All records must be covered by a NARA-approved disposition authority. This includes using existing records schedules, creating new schedules, or using an applicable GRS. | 3. Disposal | Program | Must Have | 36 CFR 1226.10 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 3.04 | If a suspend-disposition authority or legal hold is issued, the disposition of approved records must cease immediately. The approved records will remain suspended until a revocation order lifts the authority. Once the authority is lifted, the disposition of approved records can continue. | 3. Disposal | Program | Must Have | 36 CFR 1226.18 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 3.05 | Agencies may retain records approved for destruction beyond the period outlined in the records schedule if the records in question pertain to a court order, executive order, law, or approved business justification. | 3. Disposal | Program | Should Have | 36 CFR 1226.18 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 3.06 | Once the circumstances pertaining to the extended retention of records are no longer applicable, agencies must destroy the records in accordance with the records schedule. | 3. Disposal | Program | Must Have | 36 CFR 1226.18 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 4.01 | Agencies must transfer documentation, including metadata and finding aids, adequate to identify, service, and interpret the permanent electronic records. | 4. Transfer | Program | Must Have | 36 CFR 1235.48 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 4.02 | Agencies using an email system that identifies users by codes or nicknames, or identifies addressees only by the name of a distribution list, must include information with the transfer-level documentation to ensure identification of the sender and addressee(s). | 4. Transfer | Program | Must Have | Email Management Success Criteria | X | |||||||
| 4.03 | During records migration, all records and associated metadata in the originating system must be retained until the migration is complete and the destination system has been deemed reliable and secure. | 4. Transfer | System | Must Have | ISO 15489-1:2016, Section 9.8 Migrating and converting records | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 4.04 | Agencies must be able to identify and preserve permanent records regardless of format or location for transfer to NARA, when appropriate. | 4. Transfer | Program | Must Have | 36 CFR 1236.14 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 4.05 | Agencies must disable passwords or other forms of file-level encryption that prevent access to records before transferring permanent records to NARA. | 4. Transfer | Program | Must Have | NARA Bulletin 2014-04: Format Guidance | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 4.06 | Agencies must retain a copy of all permanent electronic records transferred to NARA until receiving official notification that NARA has accepted legal custody of the records. | 4. Transfer | Program | Must Have | 36 CFR 1235.44(a) | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 4.07 | Agencies must transfer permanent records to NARA in accordance with their records retention schedules. Generally, permanent records are transferred between 15 and 30 years after their creation or receipt. | 4. Transfer | Program | Must Have | NARA Bulletin 2020-02: Guidance on Scheduling the Early and Late Transfer of Permanent Records | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 4.08 | Agencies must transfer permanent records to NARA in accordance with the preferred and acceptable file formats outlined in NARA Bulletin 2014-04, Appendix A: Table of File Formats. | 4. Transfer | Program | Must Have | NARA Bulletin 2014-04, Appendix A: Table of File Formats | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 5.01 | Agencies must capture, manage, and preserve metadata associated with electronic records to ensure content, context, and structure is preserved. | 5. Metadata | System | Must Have | 36 CFR 1222.26 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 5.02 | Metadata for a record must consist of information recording (1) the description of the content of the record; (2) the structure of the record (form, format, and relationships between record components); (3) the business context in which the record was created; (4) relationships with other records and metadata; (5) identifiers and other information needed to retrieve the record; (6) the business actions and events involving the record throughout its existence. | 5. Metadata | System | Must Have | ISO 15489-1:2016, Section 5.2 Records | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 5.03 | Records systems must define metadata to (1) enable the identification and retrieval of records; (2) associate records with changing business rules, policies, and mandates; (3) associate records with agents, and their authorizations and rights with regards to the records; (4) associate records with their business activities; (5) track processes carried out on records. | 5. Metadata | System | Must Have | ISO 15489-1:2016, Section 8.2 Metadata schemas for records | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 5.04 | Metadata to manage records must be in one of six categories: (1) Identity - information identifying the record; (2) Description - information determining the nature of the record; (3) Use - information facilitating immediate and longer-term record use; (4) Event plan - information used to manage the record, such as disposition information; (5) Event history - information recording past events on the record and its metadata; (6) Relation - information describing the relationship between the record and other records. | 5. Metadata | System | Must Have | ISO 15489-1:2016, Section 8.2 Metadata schemas for records | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 5.05 | The metadata for a record must be protected from unauthorized deletion, and must be retained or destroyed in accordance with the record's retention schedule. | 5. Metadata | Program | Must Have | ISO 15489-1:2016, Section 5.2 Records | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 5.06 | Once the record has been captured, the associated metadata must be fixed and kept as transactional evidence. The metadata includes a unique identifier, author, date of creation, and relationships with other records. | 5. Metadata | System | Must Have | ISO 15489-1:2016, Section 9.3 Capturing records | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 5.07 | When migrating records between systems or converting to new file formats, agencies must ensure informational content remains unaltered and that sufficient metadata describing the context and structure of the records is retained so that they can be used for all of the same business purposes as the source records. | 5. Metadata | System | Must Have | 36 CFR 1236.12 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 5.08 | When initiating transfer requests (TRs) in ERA 2.0, agencies must be prepared to populate the following fields: Transfer Request Number, Transfer Title, Inclusive Start Date, Inclusive End Date, Creating Organization, Parent Record Group Number, General Records Type, Access Restriction Status, Specific Access Restriction, Use Restriction Status, Specific Use Restriction, Records Schedule Number. | 5. Metadata | System | Must Have | 36 CFR 1236.58 Subpart F | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 5.09 | All transfers of permanent electronic records must include the following metadata elements describing each record or file in a Comma Separated Values file (CSV): File Name, Record ID, Record schedule number and item number, Title, Description, Creator, Creation Date, Rights. Metadata elements such as Coverage and Relation must also be provided if they apply to the records being transferred. Additional metadata for digitized records is specified in 36 CFR 1236.54 Subpart E. | 5. Metadata | System | Must Have | NARA Bulletin 2015-04: Metadata Guidance | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 5.10 | When transferring permanent records to NARA, agencies must provide the metadata elements as an index in a machine-readable CSV file. Agencies must notify NARA if there are additional metadata provided with the transferred permanent records. | 5. Metadata | System | Must Have | NARA Bulletin 2015-04: Metadata Guidance | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 5.11 | Records can represent more than one business activity and therefore can be assigned to more than one record category. | 5. Metadata | Program | Should Have | RMSC Functional Requirements | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 6.01 | Agencies must have the ability to generate reports demonstrating effective controls and compliance. | 6. Reporting | System | Must Have | 36 CFR 1220.18 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 6.02 | The records system should provide the ability to design and generate customized reports. | 6. Reporting | System | Should Have | ISO 15489-1:2016, Section 6.4 Monitoring and evaluation | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 6.03 | The records system should provide the ability to print reports that are legible, professional in appearance, and usable for an agency's official business purposes. | 6. Reporting | System | Should Have | ISO 15489-1:2016, Section 6.4 Monitoring and evaluation | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 6.04 | The records system should provide the ability to filter and sort report data based on the values contained in any field or column. | 6. Reporting | System | Should Have | ISO 15489-1:2016, Section 6.4 Monitoring and evaluation | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 6.05 | The records system should provide the ability to schedule the delivery of reports, and to distribute them to a specified list of recipients. | 6. Reporting | System | Should Have | ISO 15489-1:2016, Section 6.4 Monitoring and evaluation | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 6.06 | The records system should provide users the ability to design and run ad hoc reports using any information for which they have been granted access. | 6. Reporting | System | Should Have | ISO 15489-1:2016, Section 6.4 Monitoring and evaluation | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 6.07 | The records system should provide the ability to save the configurations of ad hoc reports for reuse. | 6. Reporting | System | Should Have | ISO 15489-1:2016, Section 6.4 Monitoring and evaluation | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
NARA Universal Electronic Records Management Requirements, Version 3
Digitization Requirements for T
| Req ID | Requirement Text | Lifecycle Phase | Req Type | Priority | Source |
| DT.01 | Agencies must capture all information contained in the original source records. | 1. Capture | System | Must Have | 36 CFR 1236.32 |
| DT.02 | Agencies must include all the pages or parts from the original source records. | 1. Capture | System | Must Have | 36 CFR 1236.32 |
| DT.03 | Agencies must ensure the agency can use the digitized versions for all the purposes the original source records serve, including the ability to attest to transactions and activities. | 1. Capture | System | Must Have | 36 CFR 1236.32 |
| DT.04 | Agencies must validate that the digitized versions are of suitable quality to replace original source records. Agencies may establish their own validation process or make use of third-party processes to validate that the digitized versions comply with 36 CFR 1236.32. The process may be project-based or agency-wide policy. | 1. Capture | System | Must Have | 36 CFR 1236.34 |
| DT.05 | Agencies must document the validation process and retain that documentation for the life of the process or the life of any records digitized using that process, whichever is longer. NARA may review validation documentation as needed. | 1. Capture | System | Must Have | 36 CFR 1236.34 |
| DT.06 | Agencies must protect against unauthorized deletions, additions, or alterations to the digitized versions. | 2. Maintain & Use | System | Must Have | 36 CFR 1236.32 |
| DT.07 | Agencies must ensure the agency can locate, retrieve, access, and use the digitized versions for the records' entire retention period. | 2. Maintain & Use | System | Must Have | 36 CFR 1236.32 |
| DT.08 | Agencies may destroy original source records when an agency has validated that the digitized versions meet the standards in 36 CFR 1236.32 pursuant to General Records Schedule (GRS) 5.2 (intermediary records) or an agency-specific records schedule that addresses disposition after digitization, subject to any pending legal constraint on the agency, such as a litigation hold. | 3. Disposal | System | Must Have | 36 CFR 1236.36 |
NARA Universal Electronic Records Management Requirements, Version 3
Digitization Requirements for P
| Req ID | Requirement Text | Lifecycle Phase | Req Type | Priority | Source |
| DP.01 | Agencies must establish intellectual control, including the capture of any relationships that exist among source records that will be digitized, before starting a digitization project. | 1. Capture | Program | Must Have | 36 CFR 1236.42 |
| DP.02 | Agencies must identify all the elements of physical control needed for the records to be digitized, including the physical characteristics of source records, such as the type of paper, the type of printing, or the size of the records. | 1. Capture | Program | Must Have | 36 CFR 1236.42 |
| DP.03 | Agencies must ensure there is a process to identify and document gaps in coverage or missing records. | 1. Capture | Program | Must Have | 36 CFR 1236.42 |
| DP.04 | Agencies must ensure appropriate safeguards for the source records to prevent their loss or damage and must restrict access to them while they are being digitized to minimize the risk of unauthorized additions, deletions, or alterations by complying with the mechanisms and controls specified in 36 CFR 1236.10 and 1236.20. | 1. Capture | System | Must Have | 36 CFR 1236.42 |
| DP.05 | Agencies must create digital documentation when digitizing permanent source records in accordance with 36 CFR 1236.44 and retain it until NARA has notified them that their transfer has been accessioned into NARA's holdings. | 1. Capture | System | Must Have | 36 CFR 1236.44 |
| DP.06 | The agency must meet the image quality performance parameters specified in 36 CFR 1236.50 by verifying how well the equipment meets the aim points and tolerances of the parameters. The agency cannot rely solely on equipment specifications, such as scanner ppi settings or camera sensor megapixels, to ensure digital image quality. The performance parameters are based on FADGI three-star aim points and tolerance ranges. | 1. Capture | System | Must Have | 36 CFR 1236.46 |
| DP.07 | The agency must encode, retain, and transfer digitized records in file formats, either uncompressed or using one of the specified compression codecs in tables 1 and 2 of 36 CFR 1236.48. | 1. Capture | System | Must Have | 36 CFR 1236.48 |
| DP.08 | Agencies must use equipment to digitize federal records appropriate for the media type, and capable of achieving documented project objectives without damaging the source records. | 1. Capture | System | Must Have | 36 CFR 1236.50 |
| DP.09 | Agencies must digitize photographic prints and paper records that have fine details according to the requirements in 36 CFR 1236.50. These include photographic prints, graphic-arts prints (for example, lithographs or intaglio), drawings, embossed seals, and records that have information that cannot be captured by the parameters for modern textual paper records. | 1. Capture | System | Must Have | 36 CFR 1236.50 |
| DP.10 | Agencies must create file names and record IDs that are unique to each image file. | 1. Capture | System | Must Have | 36 CFR 1236.54 |
| DP.11 | Agencies must embed the metadata specified by paragraph (c) of 36 CFR 1236.54 in each image file, capture and maintain it in a recordkeeping system, associate it with the records it describes, and keep it consistent and accurate in both places. | 1. Capture | System | Must Have | 36 CFR 1236.54 |
| DP.12 | Agencies must ensure that scanning equipment embeds the system-generated technical metadata specified by table 4 to paragraph (e)(1) of 36 CFR 1236.54 for format technical metadata and table 5 to paragraph (e)(2) of 36 CFR 1236.54 for processing technical metadata in each image file, and ensure that image processing does not alter or delete it. | 1. Capture | System | Must Have | 36 CFR 1236.54 |
| DP.13 | Agencies must validate that the digitized versions meet the standards in compliance with 36 CFR 1236.56 when a digitization project is complete. Separate staff must conduct the validation, independent from the staff that performed the digitization QC inspections described in 36 CFR 1236.46. | 1. Capture | Program | Must Have | 36 CFR 1236.54 |
| DP.14 | Agencies must verify that all records identified in the project's scope have either been digitized or have been identified in project documentation as missing or incomplete records; all required metadata are accurate complete, and correctly labeled; all image technical attributes specified in CFR 1236.50 have been met; all image files are legible and all physical characteristics necessary to understand and use the records have been captured; mixed-media files are digitized appropriately for the material type, or if mixed-media components are retained in their original format, they are associated with digitized components through metadata, per the requirements specified in 36 CFR 1236.54(c); and project documentation has been created according to 36 CFR 1236.44. | 1. Capture | Program | Must Have | 36 CFR 1236.56 |
| DP.15 | Agencies must be able to identify digitized records as permanent records once validated. | 1. Capture | Program | Must Have | 36 CFR 1236.56 |
| DP.16 | If there are born-digital records or records on physical media that are part of the record series within the project, agencies must follow the instructions for managing mixed-media records in 36 CFR 1236.52. | 2. Maintain & Use | Program | Must Have | 36 CFR 1236.42 |
| DP.17 | Agencies must maintain metadata sufficient to ensure that intellectual and physical control of the digital records can be maintained. Agencies must ensure that the metadata remains accurate and consistent regardless of where it is stored. | 2. Maintain & Use | System | Must Have | 36 CFR 1236.54 |
| DP.18 | Agencies must determine whether the agency has any reasons for retaining the source records for a period of time once digitized, in keeping with 36 CFR 1236.40(g). | 3. Disposal | Program | Must Have | 36 CFR 1236.56 |
| DP.19 | Agencies must dispose of the source records in accordance with an agency records schedule or GRS that addresses disposition after digitization. | 3. Disposal | Program | Must Have | 36 CFR 1236.56 |
| DP.20 | Agencies must transfer permanent records to the legal and physical custody of the National Archives of the United States according to the approved disposition authority with the required transfer metadata. | 4. Transfer | Program | Must Have | 36 CFR 1236.56 |
| DP.21 | Agencies must retain the project documentation described in 36 CFR 1236.44 until the National Archives confirms receipt of the records and legal custody of the records has been transferred. | 4. Transfer | Program | Must Have | 36 CFR 1236.56 |
| DP.22 | Agencies must transfer the administrative, technical, and descriptive metadata captured during the digitization project as CSV files, as described in 36 CFR 1236.54(b)(6), with the resulting digitized records. | 5. Metadata | System | Must Have | 36 CFR 1236.56 |
NARA Universal Electronic Records Management Requirements, Version 3
Glossary
| Lifecycle Phase | Definition | Source |
| Capture | The process of placing an object under records management control for maintenance, accesss, and disposition purposes. Objects are not necessarily moved from the system in which they were created or reside in when they are captured. Records can be imported from other sources, manually entered into the system, or linked to other systems. The capture process includes the capability to identify and categorize records using a combination of user or process-supplied data based on existing file plans, organizational structures, algorithmic queries, templates, and/or systems. Also includes a unique identifier for each record and ideally the ability to auto-identify and declare record status. | 36 CFR 1236.20 |
| Maintain & Use | The process of managing records through their most active stage. This includes timely, efficient, and accurate access to records, including the capability by individual or administrative users to set access permissions for actions such as preventing unauthorized access, modifying, or deleting of records. Also includes support for search capability to enable users to appropriately retrieve information and support special information requests for Discovery Orders, Privacy Act queries, Inspector General inquiries, and FOIA requests. These searches should be based on metadata and full-text indexing of record content. The Maintain & Use lifecycle phase also includes ensuring records are migrated and transformed as systems change, so the records remain usable. Digital preservation is particularly important for permanent records that will eventually be transferred to the National Archives of the United States. | 36 CFR 1222.26 |
| Disposal | The process of disposing of records scheduled for destruction. Records that meet these conditions are destroyed in accordance with their records retention schedule according to 36 CFR 1226.24 and methods such as those outlined in NIST Special Publication 800-88. Electronic records scheduled for destruction must be disposed of in a manner that ensures protection of any sensitive, proprietary, or national security information. This also includes the ability to suspend disposition authority beyond the period outlined in the records schedule if the records pertain to a legal hold or an approved business justification. | 36 CFR 1226.24 |
| Transfer | The process of transferring records that have been scheduled as permanent to the National Archives of the United States. This includes records that have been scheduled as permanent, records that are designated as permanent in a GRS; and, when appropriate, records that are accretions to holdings (continuations of series already accessioned). | 36 CFR 1235.10 |
| Metadata | Metadata are elements of information that answer the questions ‘who, what, where, when, and why’ regarding electronic records. Metadata elements provide administrative, descriptive, and technical information that describe the structure and content of electronic records. Metadata elements also provide contextual information that explains how electronic records were created, used, managed, and maintained prior to disposal or their transfer to NARA, and how they are related to other records. This information enables NARA to appropriately manage, preserve, and provide access to electronic records for as long as they are needed. Examples include identifier, creator, title, creation date, rights, etc. | NARA Bulletin 2015-04: Metadata Guidance for the Transfer of Permanent Electronic Records |
| Reporting | Generating reports allows for further analysis and to demonstrate effective controls and compliance. Reports may include search results, records eligible for disposition, audit trail logs, and other customized or ad hoc reports. | 36 CFR 1236.10 |
| Requirement Type | Definition | Source |
| Program | Program requirements describe controls over the creation, maintenance, and use of records in the conduct of current business in an agency's records management program implemented by an agency records officer. These requirements help create the proper environment for the successful implementation of electronic records management systems or solutions. | 36 CFR 1220.30 |
| System | System requirements describe the desired features and/or functions of an electronic records management system. These requirements help agencies select a system or solution that meets the functionalities necessary for electronic recordkeeping. | 36 CFR 1236.20 |
| Key Terms | Definition | Source |
| Agency Personnel | Agency personnel refers to federal employees, contractors, volunteers, and others that create, receive, access, or use federal records on behalf of the agency. | 36 CFR 1220.18; 36 CFR 1222.32 |
| Record Type | Definition | Source |
| Office Management Applications | Office Management Applications refers to documents created with desktop and cloud applications, such as Microsoft Office, Adobe, or other Office Management software. These documents include word processing documents and presentation formats. | NARA Bulletin 2014-04: Format Guidance for the Transfer of Permanent Electronic Records, Appendix A: Tables of File Formats |
| Electronic Messages | Electronic Messages means electronic mail and other electronic messaging systems that are used for purposes of communicating between individuals. Electronic Messages include email messages, instant messages, chat messages, text messages, and voicemail messages that meet the definition of federal records. | 36 CFR Chapter 12, Part 1220.18; NARA Bulletin 2023-02: Expanded Role-Based Approach for Electronic Messages; NARA Bulletin 2015-02: Guidance on Managing Electronic Messages |
| Social Media | Social Media refers to messages generated through a social media application that meet the definition of federal records. Examples of social media applications include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn among others. | NARA Bulletin 2014-02: Guidance on managing social media records |
| Websites | Websites refers to (1) web content records, which represent information presented on a website, and (2) website administrative records, which provide evidence of the management and operations of the website. Examples of website records include the following: web page content, dynamic content, scripts, list of URLs referenced by hyperlinks, website design records, etc. | NARA Guidance on Managing Web Records |
| Photographs | Photographs include born-digital still photographs of natural, real-world scenes or subjects produced by digital cameras, and scanned images of photographic prints, slides, and negatives that meet the definition of federal records. | NARA Bulletin 2014-04: Format Guidance for the Transfer of Permanent Electronic Records, Appendix A: Tables of File Formats |
| Digital Audio and Video | Digital Audio encompass formats used to encode recorded sound as machine readable files by converting acoustic sound waves into digital signals that meet the definition of federal records. Digital audio formats are generally composed of both a wrapper format, usually the common name associated with the file extension, and an encoding method or codec. |
| Digital Video refers to digital moving images consist of bitmap digital images or “frames” displayed in rapid succession at a constant rate, giving the appearance of movement. Includes both video digitized from analogue sources and born digital video) that meet the definition of federal records. | NARA Bulletin 2014-04: Format Guidance for the Transfer of Permanent Electronic Records | ||
| Structured Data | Structured data refers to data that is stored in defined fields. Categories for structured data include database formats, spreadsheets, and statistical data that is the result of quantitative research and analysis, and scientific data collected by instrumentation tools during the scientific process. | NARA Bulletin 2014-04: Format Guidance for the Transfer of Permanent Electronic Records, Appendix A: Tables of File Formats | |
| Shared Drives | Shared Drives, also known as network drives, refer to managed shared servers which provide electronic storage space for authorized users to house federal records in supported file formats. Shared Drives can be manage on premises or in the cloud. Examples include SharePoint, OneDrive, and Google Drive. The use of shared drives poses recordkeeping challenges because agencies may store content that includes federal records and non-record materials together. | NARA Bulletin 2012-02: Guidance on Managing Content on Shared Drives |
NARA Universal Electronic Records Management Requirements, Version 3
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