Record Retention Schedules

Destruction of Records

Details: Category: Record Retention Schedules

Can I destroy paper copies of records which have been digitized?

Non-permanent records should be properly destroyed according to approved methods: You must meet the requirements set forth in the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (in particular W.S. 40-21-112 below) and the State of Wyoming Enterprise Technology Services' Rule 5 (below), if you plan to discard paper copies of non-permanent records. As always, we recommend that you check with your attorney if you have any concerns about this.

W.S. 40-21-102
Size : 79.52 kb Format : PDF

ETS Rule 5
Size : 152.79 kb Format : PDF

What about destroying permanent records?

Only the State Records Committee can approve destruction of paper copies of permanent records. Contact your analyst to discuss how to initiate this request.

Can I destroy records on my own?

You may destroy Non-permanent records according to approved methods (see “Can I destroy…?” above). Only the State Records Committee can approve destruction of paper copies of permanent records. Contact your analyst to discuss this.

How will I know when my records’ retention periods have been met?

If you have transferred your records to the State Records Center (state agency records only), we will notify you when your records have met their retention period. At that time, we will send you a Disposition Approval Report. Your designated agency Records Officer will have the opportunity to review this request and authorize our Records Management staff to destroy those records.

Local government agencies should follow the retention periods listed in our Records Retention Schedules. We'll be happy to help you understand how to use these. The most current schedules are always on this website.

Can we digitize and destroy county school district records?

Sending records to the Wyoming State Archives

Paper Records

Student permanent files are classed for permanent retention by the State Archives Records Management Unit (records retention schedule ADM-EDU-17). We generally accept records ten years after the graduation date. Please include only student transcripts, immunization records, and IEP plans. Weed other records from the permanent file before you send it to us. Non-permanent records from school districts are classed according to the current records retention schedules on the State Archives’ website:.

Digital Records

We also accept transfers of permanent student records as digital files. They can be created digitally, or digitized. Pdf format is preferred, but we can also accept Word and Excel files. When you are ready to transfer digital records to the State Archives, please call Cindy Brown, Digital Archivist so that she can discuss the best way for you to transfer the files to us. As with the paper files, once you transfer your digital student permanent records to the State Archives, we can retrieve records for past students needing copies of transcripts or immunization records.

Digitizing paper copies of student records

For guidance on digitization, please see our Archives Guidelines for Creation and Preservation of Digital Files (under “For State Agency and Local Government Staff.”) This guide covers formats, file naming, metadata, digitization recommendations, and storage and preservation of digital files.

And, see our web page with tips on preparing records for digitization.

When You Can Destroy Paper Copies of Digitized School Records

On advice from the State Attorney General's Office, we recommend the following for destruction of digitized paper originals. As always, we recommend that you check with your attorney if you have any concerns about this:

You may digitize and discard the originals – only if:

NON-PERMANENT records:

There are no requirements to keep a paper copy (see WY Statute 9-2-413)
You meet the requirements set forth in these two documents:
- Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (in particular W.S. 40-21-112)
- State of Wyoming Enterprise Technology Services' Rule 5: Electronic Transactions: Electronic Records.

Both of these documents can be found on our Forms and Guidelines page.

You consult with the State Archivist about your ability to meet these requirements.
Submit a “Reproductive Process Approval Form--Political Subdivisions” and submit it to the State Archivist for approval. You can request a copy of this forms from the Records Analyst assigned to Political Subdivisions.

PERMANENT records:

In addition to the above requirements, you must also do the following before you may digitize and discard the originals:

Submit a “Reproductive Process Approval Form--Political Subdivisions” and submit it to the State Archivist for approval.
Submit a “Request for Approval to Destroy Permanent Records that Have Been Scanned” form to the State Records Committee, via the State Archivist. Note: one of the key criteria for permission to destroy scanned permanent records is entering them into the Wyoming Digital Archives.

You can request a copy of these forms from the Records Analyst assigned to Political Subdivisions.