Office of Institutional Compliance

1. Determine Storage Eligibility

• The Record Series must be listed on the department's current certified Records Retention Schedule.
• The records must have at least one year of retention remaining.
• The records must be inactive, or no longer regularly referenced.

2. Obtain Approval to Store

• Has your department stored these records before? Is there a time frame listed in the storage field on the Records Retention Schedule? If you answered yes to either of these questions, continue to step #3.
• If the records have never been sent to storage, a Storage Approval Form will need to be completed and submitted to Records Management prior to sending any boxes to storage.
• Storage approval forms can be emailed to recmgmtc@utmb.edu

3. Prepare and Assemble Boxes

• Letter/legal storage boxes purchased from Supply Chain - Procurement are the ONLY boxes that are approved for storage.
• The box order number is 60471, and includes a box and a lid.
• Be sure to follow the instructions on the box for proper construction to ensure that the box integrity is maintained.

4. Packing the Records

• The contents of the box must be the same records series.
• The contents of the box must be eligible for disposition at the same time.
• DO NOT mix years within a box.
• DO NOT mix records series within a box.
• DO NOT mix research studies or trials within a box, unless the closure date is the same.
• DO NOT put binders or hanging folders in the box.
• It is best to keep the records as close to the original filing arrangement, whether alphabetical, numerical, or chronological.
• Do not over pack the box. Leave about an inch of space on each side of the packed records so the box hand-grips can still be utilized to pickup the boxes.
  

5. Prepare a Transmittal of Records Form

• As you are packing the boxes, fill out each line of the Transmittal of Records Form about the contents of each box. This information includes: First File, Last File, Oldest Date, Newest Date, and Eligible Disposition Date.
• Assign a Temporary Box Number to each box. This should start with 1, and go in sequence for each box. Make sure when you have finished the form, the last temporary box number is the same number listed in Field 13 - Number of Boxes.
• If you have more than 15 boxes of the same records series, use the Transmittal of Records - Continuation Page to continue listing the box information.
  
• Fill out a new Transmittal of Records Form for each new Records Series that is being sent for storage.
• DO NOT combine records series on the same form.

6. Index the Box Contents

• The Transmittal Form only captures the first and last file within each box. If that information is not detailed enough to know the contents, it is recommended but not required that each department create a detailed index of the box contents. 
• An index is a list of every file placed in the box. It is helpful if a file needs to be referenced in the future. 
• If an index is created, be sure to keep one copy of the index with the Records Transmittal Form in the department records binder, and place a second copy inside the box on top of the files.

9. Submit Transmittal of Records Form

• Double check that the information on the Transmittal of Records Form(s) matches the labeled boxes.
• Double check that if an index was created that it has been placed inside each box.
• Email completed Transmittal of Records Form to recmgmtc@utmb.edu