Document Retention Guideline Disclaimer:
The primary obstacle in Records Management is to know what records to keep and for how long to keep them. Since our primary business is document management, we have researched and developed a comprehensive list of standard document types and commonly used standards for document retention.
We strongly encourage you to seek your own legal advice and specific industry guidelines. These recommendations on Document Retention are general guidelines and are not advice for any specific circumstance.
Medical
Please check with your state specialty association in addition to using these criteria.
- Keep an adequate medical record that is “Complete, Contemporaneous, and Legible for each patient for a minimum of Seven Years from the anniversary date of last treatment.
- If a patient was younger than 18 years of age when last treated, keep the medical records until the patient reaches the age of 21, or for seven years from the date of the last treatment, whichever is longer.
- Do not destroy medical records that relate to any civil, criminal, or administrative proceeding if you know the proceeding has not been finally resolved.
General Business Retention Schedule
Financial / Accounting Records |
|
| Auditors Reports | Indefinitely |
| Bank Debt Deduction | 7 years |
| Bank Deposit Slips, Reconciliations, Statements | 4 years |
| Bills of Lading | 4 years |
| Budgets-Projections | 2 years |
| Cash Books | Indefinitely |
| Charts of Accounts | Indefinitely |
| Checks-Canceled-Payroll-General | 8 years |
| Contracts-Purchase and Sales | 4 years* |
| Credit Memos | 4 years |
| Depreciation Schedules | Indefinitely |
| Dividend Checks-Cancelled | 6 years |
| Employee Payroll Records (W2, W-4, Annual Earnings, Etc) | 6 years* |
| Expense Reports | 6 years |
| Export Declarations | 4 years |
| Financial Statements-End of Year | Indefinitely |
| Financial Statements-Interim | 4 years |
| Freight Bills | 4 years |
| Fixed Assts Detail | Indefinitely |
| Garnishments | 7 years |
| General Ledgers and Journals | Indefinitely |
| Internal Reports (Work Orders, Sales Reports, Production Reports) | 4 years |
| Internal Audit Reports | 3 years |
| Inventory Lists | 4 years |
| Invoices-Sales and Cash Register Receipts, Merchandise Purchases | 4 years |
| Invoices-Purchases (Permanent Assets) | 4 years* |
| Manifests | 4 years |
| Payroll-Time Cards-Individual Time Reports-Earning Records | 3 years |
| Shipping and Receiving Reports | 4 years |
| Subsidiary Ledgers (Including Receivables and Payables) | 6 years |
| Trial Balances-Monthly | 6 years |
| Vouchers-For Payment to Vendor, Employee, Etc | 8 years |
Corporate / Business Records |
|
| Article of Incorporation | Indefinitely |
| Bylaws and Charters | Indefinitely |
| Capital Stock and Bond Records | Indefinitely |
| Checks-Taxes, Property, and Settlement of Important Contracts | Indefinitely |
| Contracts and Agreements Still in Effect | Indefinitely |
| Contracts and agreements (Government Construction, Partnerships Employment, Labor, Etc) | Indefinitely |
| Copyrights and Trademark Registration | Indefinitely |
| Deeds and Easements | Indefinitely |
| Labor Contracts | Indefinitely |
| Legal Correspondence | Indefinitely |
| Minutes | Indefinitely |
| Mortgages and Note Agreements | 6 years* |
| Patents | Indefinitely |
| Personnel Files | 4 years* |
| Procedure Records | Indefinitely |
| Proxies | Indefinitely |
| Retirement and Pension Records | Indefinitely |
| Sales Commission Reports | 3 years |
| Scrap and Salvage Records (Inventories, Sales, Etc.) | 4 years |
| Subsidiary Ledgers | 4 years |
| Tax Returns and Working Papers-Revenue Agents Reports | Indefinitely |
| Union Agreements | Indefinitely |
Correspondence |
|
| General | 2 years |
| Legal and Tax | Indefinitely |
| License, Traffic, and Purchase | 6 years |
| Production | 8 years |
Insurance Records |
|
| Accident Reports | 7 years |
| Claims After Settlement | 10 years |
| Fire Inspection Reports | 6 years |
| Group Disability Reports | 8 years |
| Insurance Policies | 6 years* |
| Safety Records and Reports | 8 years |
Personnel Records |
|
| Contracts – Expired | 6 years |
| Daily Time Cards | 6 years |
| Disability and Sick Benefit Records | 6 years |
| Employment Applications | 3 years |
| Personnel Files- Terminated | 7 years |
| Training Manuals | Indefinitely |
| Withholding Tax Statements | 6 years |
Pension / Profit Sharing Records |
|
| Actuarial Reports | Indefinitely |
| Associated Ledgers and Journals | Indefinitely |
| Financial Statements | Indefinitely |
| IRS Approval Letter | Indefinitely |
| Plan and Trust Agreement | Indefinitely |
Purchasing and Sales |
|
| Purchase Orders | 3 years |
| Requisitions | 3 years |
| Sales Contracts | 3 years |
| Sales Invoices | 3 years |
Tax Records: There is no limit for returns files fraudulently or substantially underreport income.
The time you are required to keep records includes the period of time during which you can amend your tax return to claim a credit or refund, or that the IRS can assess more tax. The following situations contain the periods of limitations that apply to income tax returns. Unless otherwise stated, the years refer to the period after the return was filed. Returns filed before the due date are treated as filed on the due date.
- You owe additional tax and situations 2, 3, and 4 below do not apply to you. Keep records for 3 years.
- You do not report income that you should report, and it is more than 25% of the gross income shown on your return; keep the records for 6 years.
- You file a fraudulent income tax return; keep records indefinitely.
- You do not file a return; keep records indefinitely.
- You file a claim for credit or refund* after you file your return; keep records for 3 years from the date you filed your original return or 2 years from the date you paid the tax, whichever is later.
- Your claim is due to a bad debt deduction; keep records for 7 years.
- Your claim is due to a loss from worthless securities; keep records for 7 years.
- Keep information on an asset for the life of the asset, even when you dispose of the asset; keep records indefinitely.
- Keep all employment tax records for at least 4 years after the date that the tax becomes due or is paid, whichever is later.
| Sales and Use Tax Returns | Indefinitely |
| Payroll Tax Returns | 4 years |
| Pension/Profit Sharing Information Returns | Indefinitely |
ALL RETENTION PERIODS BEGIN WITH THE DATE THE RETURN WAS FILED. IF THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS CONCERNING A TAX YEAR IS EXTENDED, THE RETENTION PERIOD SHOULD BE EXTENDED ACCORDINGLY.
*Retention periods begin after the termination, expiration, disposal, etc of the item.