If a paper document is scanned can the electronic file serve as the official record? Can the paper document be destroyed?
• It depends on the document, what function is serves and how long the record needs to be preserved • If the document serves an historical or legal purpose, the paper document must be preserved (forever, in the case of documents with historical value) • If the document falls in the administrative or fiscal categories (i.e., invoices) then those may be destroyed once scanned as long as there are no statues or federal regulations stipulating otherwise • Areas interested in scanning documents need to fill out an Imaging Request form and ensure the vendor responsible for scanning the documents is in compliance • Imaging Request for Minutes – Source Docs Not Destroyed – strictly used when Minute records are imaged and used online (Word) • Imaging Request for Microfilm – used if you would like to microfilm Permanent records (Word) • Imaging Request – Source Docs Not Destroyed – used for records with a total retention period less than 10 years, where you would like to image the records, but s
