Disposal of Records

Disposition is the final stage of the life cycle of an official University of Texas at Austin record. When retention requirements have been met, records must either be destroyed in accordance with the university records retention schedule or transferred to university archives. A Request for Internal Authorization to Dispose of University Records must be submitted and approved prior to destroying or transferring any master record.

State law requires the maintenance of a log detailing the disposition of all master records. The request form provides information to complete the records disposition log that is maintained for all university records by Records Management Services (RMS) and must be retained for 10 years after the disposition of records. Failure to maintain complete and accurate disposition logs exposes the university to serious risk in the case of lawsuits, public information requests, audits, and other claims and disputes.

Caution: If any litigation, claim, negotiation, audit, open records request, administrative review, or other action involving a record in the University of Texas at Austin Records Retention Schedule (UTRRS) has been initiated before the expiration of the retention period, the record must be retained until the completion of the action and the resolution of all issues that arise from it.

Before you submit the form, please check the following:

• Have you listed records that have the same archival requirements on each form? If you wish to dispose of some records which require archival review, and others which do not, submit the requests on separate forms.

• Did you include the record dates including month and year (in MM/YYYY format), and the retention period (e.g., FE+3) for all record types?

• Has the retention period been met? Please do not submit a form until the retention period has been met for all records on the form or it will be returned to you.

  Note: The record destruction date is determined by the latest date of a record series.

• Do you have the necessary two signatures from your department? The request needs to be signed by the preparer and a person with approval status such as a director or dean. Transitory Information may be destroyed without approval.

• Have you listed your departmental Records Management Contact? This information may be found in the UT Austin Department System, or you may call Records Management Services for assistance.

Instructions to submit the form:

1. Please do not submit worksheets or other addenda as they will not be accepted. It is a good practice to retain any lists, spreadsheets, or other information used to develop your request along with your final authorization for your own future reference.

2. Fax the completed form to RMS at 232-1492.

3. Wait for a copy of the approved Disposal Form to be sent back to you before disposing of the records.

4. After the records have been destroyed or transferred to archives, note the date of disposition on your copy of the Disposal Form and fax it to RMS or e-mail a notification to RMS, referencing the control number assigned on your approved request form.

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