University Archives and Records Center
University of Pennsylvania

University Records Center Procedures:
Records Destruction or Disposition

 

photo of empty shelves in the Records Center

Records Destruction or Disposition

  1. No material is disposed of or destroyed without written authorization from the originating department.

  2. Approximately one month prior to the disposition date shown on the original Transfer Request form (see number 9 under Records Storage Procedures) the URC will notify departments of boxes eligible for disposition.

  3. Departments should review the list of boxes eligible for disposition and indicate:

    • Changes in the original disposition dates in order to retain the material for a longer period.
    • Authorization to dispose/destroy the box(es) by signing.
    • Type of disposition/destruction wanted:

      • Certified destruction, generally used for confidential material
      • Non-certified (recycle) destruction, generally used for non-confidential, non-sensitive records
      • Permanently remove the boxes from the URC and deliver to the department.

  4. Return the signed authorization to the URC.

  5. The URC arranges for the final disposition of approved destructions unless the department specifically requests that records be returned to it.

Other Records Center Procedures

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