Email & Executive Correspondence Transfer Process for State Agencies

Overview

Correspondence (including email) from Utah’s state agency executives is considered historical and is preserved permanently (see general retention schedule #GRS-1758: State agency executive correspondence). When an executive terminates his/her position for any reason, State Archives works with the agency to obtain a copy of the executive’s records, comprising their hard drive, Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Drive.

 

Process

1. Each agency has an assigned liaison at the State Archives, called a RIM (records and information management) specialist. Upon notice of an executive's termination, the RIM specialist will verify that the agency has a retention schedule set up for executive correspondence (includes email).


2. The RIM specialist will email the agency a transfer form to sign. This signed form confirms that the agency authorizes transfer of the records to the State Archives for permanent preservation.


3. The RIM specialist will work with State Archives' digital records specialist to obtain a preservation copy of the records.

 

Records Requests and Access

Each agency is responsible for providing access to executive correspondence records, including email, throughout the retention period (usually 5 years). This means that even though State Archives holds a preservation copy of the records, they will not be able to provide access to the records until the retention period has been met, at which point custody will transfer automatically to State Archives.

 

Questions

If you have any questions, please contact your RIM specialist.