Storage Considerations
You should not send records to storage that have met retention. Destroy eligible records using the Certificate of Records Destruction (RM3).
You must have access to URMA in order to send boxes off-site.
The contents of a box should all fall under the same records series and have the same destruction dates. If it is necessary to mix destruction dates to fill a box, the destruction date of the box will be set to the latest of these dates.
Prepare Boxes for Storage
Doing this work on the front end saves money. If the vendor has to sort through your boxes during the destruction process, you will be charged an additional fee.
- Remove binders or other containers. Use folders, colored paper, or other dividers between binder groups to establish separation.
- Remove binder clips, butterfly clips, hanging files, and plastic sleeves. Smaller paper clips and staples can remain.
- Use a standard records storage box (10" x 15" x 12"). Copy paper boxes or over-sized bankers boxes are not acceptable.
- Do not tape the box closed. If the lid doesn't fit securely on the box without tape, move some of the contents to a second box.
- Create an inventory of each box's contents. This will help if you need to pull a record/box in the future.
- Place the URMA label on one of the box's end panels (the narrow ends of the box).
- Consult with Records & Information Management staff about inclusion of electronic media, cassette tapes, video tapes, etc.