All employees (and contractors) are required by law to make and preserve records containing adequate and proper documentation of the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, and essential transactions of the agency. In addition, the records must be properly stored and preserved, available for retrieval, and subject to appropriate approved disposition schedules.

The Federal Records Act applies to e-mail records just as it does to records that are created using other media. If you create or receive e-mail messages during the course of your daily work, you are responsible for ensuring that you properly manage them.

The Department’s current e-mail policy requires that all e-mails or attachments that meet the definition of a Federal record be added to the organization’s files by printing them (including the essential transmission data) and filing them with related paper records.

Remember–electronic mail is intended for official and authorized purposes. You must exercise common sense, good judgment, and propriety when using this government resource.

E-mail messages are not private and can be used in court as evidence.

An e-mail message consists of any document created, transmitted, or received on an e-mail system, including message text and any attachments, such as word-processed documents, spread-sheets, and graphics that may be transmitted with a message, or with an envelope containing no message.

E-mail documents are records when they:

• Are created or received in the transaction of agency business
• Are appropriate for preservation as evidence of the government’s function and activities, or
• Are valuable because of the information they contain

E-mail documents are non-records when they:

You are responsible for properly managing the creation, retention, and disposition of records that you send or receive on an e-mail system. You must:

• As soon as possible after you receive or send a message—and any attachments—determine whether it is a record or a non-record
• Print a hard copy of the record, including attachments and transmission information, and file it in the official filing system
• Delete the e-mail version of the record unless you need it for reference purpose
• Delete messages or attachments that are not records as soon as they have served their purpose

You should promptly delete non-record messages. If non-record copies are useful for reference or convenience, you should copy the information to the hard drive of your computer or to a diskette. Examples of non-records include:

• Copies of memoranda or text sent for information rather than action
• Instruction memoranda r information bulletins where the recipient is not the action office
• Messages that have only temporary value such as a message that a meeting time has changed

Yes. E-mail folders are part of the e-mail system and cannot be part of an official filing system because the e-mail system is protected by use of an individual password accessible only to you. Remember, records must be available for retrieval and access by those who need them.

All documents (e-mail, word processing, spreadsheets, etc.) on a laptop that meet the definition of a record are considered to be separate documents from similar documents maintained on the computer in your office until they are synchronized and identical.

A message that is a record becomes a non-record after the hard copy has been printed and properly retained.

The costs to the Government for the personal use of e-mail must be negligible. Personal use of e-mail must not cause congestion, delay or disruption of service to any Government system or equipment; e.g., by transmitting large attachments.

• Employees may use e-mail for point-to-point electronic transmissions or personal transmissions not to exceed 5 addressees per e-mail both as employee-generated personal messages and in response to personal messages received. Broadcast transmissions, mass mailings or bulletin boards for personal use are prohibited unless specifically authorized by the Bureau or Office System Administrator.
• Employees using e-mail for personal purposes must not represent themselves as acting in an official capacity.
• Employees are reminded to use caution when giving out their Government e-mail address for personal purposes, particularly when "registering" at various Internet sites. Registering may result in the employee receiving unwanted e-mail which in turn could strain the network resources with increased e-mail traffic.

Yes, very frequently e-mail records are involved in a discovery process during litigation, and/or the subject of congressional requests and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. If you have e-mail records that are involved in active cases as just described, those records must be preserved. The medium (electronic or paper copy) for preserving e-mail records depends on various factors. In such instances, specific guidance regarding the preservation of relevant records is generally provided either by the Office of Congressional Affairs, the FOIA Officer, or the Office of the Solicitor.

It contains unique, valuable information developed in preparing position papers, reports, studies, etc.

It reflects significant actions taken in the course of conducting business

It conveys unique, valuable information about government programs, policies, decisions, or essential actions

It conveys statements of policy or the rationale for decisions or actions It documents oral exchanges (in person or by telephone), during which policy is formulated or other government activities are planned or transacted

It adds to the proper understanding of the formulation or execution of government actions or of government operations and responsibilities

It documents important meetings It facilitates action by government officials and their successors in office

It makes possible a proper scrutiny by the Congress or other duly authorized agencies of the Government

It protects the financial, legal, and other rights of the Government and of the persons directly affected by the Government’s actions

Determine if the e-mail message/attachments meet the legal definition of a record

Print a hard copy of the record, including attachments and transmission information, and file it in the official filing system

Delete the e-mail version of the record unless you need it for reference purposes

Delete messages or attachments that are not records as soon as they have served their purpose

If you’re unsure about the correct status of a message, always treat it as a record first.