Disposition of Records

A disposition determines the final destination of records once they meet their required retention periods. All records retention schedules approved by the State Records Commission have a specific disposition listed for each record series. The five major types of Disposition are: Destroy, HIPAA Shred, Transfer to Appropriate File, Transfer to the Missouri State Archives (TMSA), or Permanent.

Destroy

For most records series, the disposition action is destruction. The records are kept for an approved length of time, called a retention period. When the retention period has been reached, the records need to be destroyed and recycled.

HIPAA Shred

A more specific type of destruction is a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) certified shred. Our current recycling vendor meets HIPAA standards for records destruction, so no further action is required on the agency's part.

Transfer to Appropriate File

When a record is created individually, but eventually needs to be added to another record, the disposition action is transfer to appropriate file. When this happens the original record is created and maintained by the agency for the full time allotted then added to the appropriate file and maintained under the new record series requirements.

Transfer to Missouri State Archives (TMSA)

When records are deemed historically pertinent the disposition action is Transfer to the Missouri State Archives. This allows information of historical importance to be preserved and maintained for future generations. Once information is transferred to the Missouri State Archives, it becomes the property of the Missouri State Archives. The Missouri State Archives then provides reference access to the public and the agency.

Permanent

Records that are required by law to be kept permanently, but have no historical value, are given the disposition action of permanent. There must be a citation of a federal law, rule or guideline or a state law or rule stating that the records must be maintained in perpetuity before the State Records Commission will approve a record series as having a permanent disposition.

Disposition Approval Forms

Once the records have met their retention periods, records analysts from the Records Management Division will send the agency a disposition approval form. Disposition is either Destroy or Transfer to the Missouri State Archives.

The agency must review the disposition form to decide if the records listed are indeed ready to be dispositioned, then sign, initial, date, and return the form to Records Management.
Once the boxes are destroyed or transferred, the agency will be informed.

If an agency has questions or concerns about anything listed on the disposition approval form, they need to contact the Records Management Division at (573) 751-3319 or by email at [email protected].

Document Destruction Services, State Records Center Annex

State agencies may drop off records at the State Records Center Annex (SRCA) located at 4720 Scruggs Station Road, Jefferson City, Missouri if the records have met their retention under either the General Retention Schedule or their Agency Records Disposition Schedule. Agencies should review the Document Destruction Services, State Records Center Annex (SRCA) procedures before dropping records off at the SRCA.