Records Analysis Forms

Per the Virginia Public Records Act, Code of Virginia § 42.1-85, “Each state agency and political subdivision of this Commonwealth shall designate as many as appropriate, but at least one, records officer to serve as a liaison to The Library of Virginia...” In order to designate a records officer, an agency must submit a completed Records Officer Designation and Responsibilities (RM-25) Form.

Read the bulleted responsibilities listed at the top of the form. With an understanding and acceptance of the responsibilities, email or mail the completed, type-written form, with original or digital signatures. If mailing, use the address in the top left corner of the form. Completed forms may be delivered by mail or email, but signatures must be hand-written or signed electronically. Type-written signatures are not acceptable.

Box 1: Type the full name of the state agency, county, city, town, or local/regional authority/entity making the designation. No abbreviations except for Dept. or Div., and do not use agency code numbers.

If the designation being made is for the entire agency, then skip to Box 3.

Box 2: If the designation is being made below the agency level, type the full name of the department or division for which the officer is being designated. Constitutional offices are considered departments of their locality for records management purposes.

Box 2a: If the designation is being made below the departmental level, type the full name of the sub-department or section.

Box 3: Type just the first and last name of the person being designated.

Box 4: Type the name of the incoming officer’s job title without abbreviations.

Box 5: Type the full address as it would appear on a mailing envelope.

Box 6: Type the incoming officer’s area code and phone number, including extension, as needed.

Box 7: Type the email address the incoming officer uses for government business purposes.

Box 8: Check the appropriate box to indicate that the status of the incoming officer is a(n):

• Replacement Records Officer – the incoming officer is replacing an existing or previous records officer. Type the former officer’s name on the “Replacing:” line.
• New Records Officer – the agency, department, or sub-department for which the designation is being made does not currently have a designated records officer. If uncertain of previous designations, check the Records Officer Contacts Search page.
• Additional Records Officer – the agency, department, or sub-department has an active records officer on file, and the incoming designee will serve as a secondary or backup officer.

Box 8a: Check the one appropriate box to indicate that the officer is being designated for:

• The entire state agency, locality, or local/regional authority/entity indicated in Box 1,
• The department or division indicated in Box 2, or
• The sub-department or section indicated in Box 2a.

Box 9: Type the incoming officer’s name (and date, if possible) in the appropriate text blocks.

Box 10: Type the name of the agency head or designee (and date, if possible) in the appropriate text blocks.

Only the state agencies and political subdivisions of this Commonwealth that store records with the Library of Virginia’s (LVA) State Records Center require access to the LVA’s online box management system. This form is submitted only if the agency desires to authorize someone other than a designated records officer to have online access and assist with managing the boxes. Designated records officers do not submit this form, but rather contact their assigned LVA records management analyst to obtain login credentials and guidance on using the system.

Read the bulleted responsibilities listed at the top of the form. With an understanding and acceptance of the records technician’s responsibilities, mail or email the completed, type-written form, with original signatures. If mailing, use the address in the top left corner of the form. Signatures must be hand-written or signed electronically. Type-written signatures are not acceptable.

Box 1: Type the full name of the state agency, county, city, town, or local/regional authority/entity authorizing the technician. No abbreviations except for Dept. or Div., and no agency code numbers.

If the authorization being made is for the entire agency, then skip to Box 3.

Box 2: If the authorization is being made below the agency level, type the full name of the department or division for which the technician is being designated. Note: Constitutional offices are considered departments of their locality for records management purposes.

Box 2a: If the authorization is being made below the departmental level, type the full name of the sub-department or section.

Box 3: Type just the first and last name of the person being authorized.

Box 4: Type the name of the incoming technician's job title without abbreviations.

Box 5: Type the full address as it would appear on a mailing envelope.

Box 6: Type the incoming technician's area code and phone number, including extension, as needed.

Box 7: Type the email address the incoming technician uses for government business purposes.

Box 8: Check the appropriate box to indicate that the status of the incoming technician is a(n):

• Replacement Records Technician – the incoming technician is replacing an existing or previous technician. Type the former tech’s name on the “Replacing:” line.
• New Records Technician – the agency, department, or sub-department for which the authorization is being made does not currently have an authorized records technician.
• Additional Records Technician – the agency, department, or sub-department has an active records technician on file, and the incoming technician will serve as a secondary or backup.

Box 8a: Check the one appropriate box to indicate that the technician is being authorized for:

• The entire state agency, locality, or local/regional authority/entity indicated in Box 1,
• The department or division indicated in Box 2, or
• The sub-department or section indicated in Box 2a.

Box 9: Type the incoming technician's name (and date, if possible) in the appropriate text blocks.

Box 10: Type the name of the agency head or designee (and date, if possible) in the appropriate text blocks.

Print, scan, or email the form. The incoming technician and the agency head/designee will sign and date their respective lines. Either mail the completed form to the address located in the top left corner of the form or email it to your assigned analyst

Documenting the authorized destruction of public records is required by the Code of Virginia § 42.1-86.1. It also provides agencies at all levels of Virginia government with a layer of defensibility when questions arise regarding a records existence or disposition. Proper documentation shows that records were disposed of in accordance with Library of Virginia (LVA) Records Retention and Disposition Schedules, and with records management best practices.

There are three distinct roles in the Certificate of Records Destruction (RM-3 form) process: the Form Creator, the Approving Official, and the Records Officer. Only the Records Officer must be officially designated with the Library via the RM-25 form. The Form Creator and Approving Official roles are manually entered by the Form Creator with each new form and, as such, the roles can be granted or revoked by the agency at will.

To begin the process, the Form Creator will:

1. Open the online RM-3 form. Note: The Form Creator must use the online form. No other form will be accepted.
2. Under Organization Information
   • Click the State Agency or Locality dropdown box and select either State Agency or Locality / Regional Entity (hereafter all referred to as “agency”)
   • Click the Agency Name box that appears and select the agency.
     • If the agency name is not found, then that indicates the agency is not on file with the LVA’s Records Management Section.
     • This may be confirmed via the Records Officer (RO) Contacts Search page. An agency designates a RO by correctly completing and submitting the Records Officer Designation and Responsibilities (RM-25 Form).
   • If this authorization for destruction is for records of the agency as a whole, rather than those of a division or department, proceed to "Select the appropriate Designated Records Officer (RO)."
   • As needed, select from their respective dropdown boxes the appropriate Division/Department (Dept.) and any appropriate Sub-Department (Sub-dept.)
     • For state agencies and regional entities, Dept. will not be populated and Sub-dept. will not appear if no RO has been respectively designated and the department.
     • For localities, Dept. will be populated with a standard set of county, city, and town departments
       • For localities that have designated ROs for other non-standard Depts. and Subdepts., those will likewise appear in their respective dropdown boxes
     • Other may be chosen from under Departments and another department name typed into the “Other” Department Name free-form field that appears.
       • If there is no agency-wide RO designated, Other will appear in the Dept. box, but will not be a useable option, as no name will appear in the “Designated Records Officer” box.
       • There is no “Other” Sub-department.
   • If an agency needs to add departments or sub-departments, advise your RO, who will forward the request to the agency’s LVA records management analyst.
   • Select the appropriate Designated Records Officer (RO).
     • If “Depts” (and, as needed, “Sub-Depts”) are selected, and there are ROs designated respectively, the agency-wide RO(s) will appear at the bottom of the dropdown box, above which will be the “Dept.” RO(s), above which will be any “Sub-dept” RO(s). Select the RO that conforms to your agency’s guidance.
     • If no RO appears, or the RO expected to appear does not, then that is an indication that the RO’s account no longer contains a valid email address. The agency/office RO should notify the assigned LVA analyst about this.
3. In the Approving Official freeform fields, enter the name, e-mail address twice (for validation), and title of the person agency/dept/sub-dept who will know whether there is a hold (litigation, audit, FOIA, request, investigation, etc.) in place or be reasonably aware of one forthcoming, that would require the continued retention of these records. This person’s approval of the form will affirm that no holds are in place or are reasonably anticipated. The Title field does not accept any type of punctuation mark. [Note: an incorrect email address here will irrevocably prevent the form from getting to the approving official.]
4. Complete all fields under Organization Address using the agency’s preference for a physical or mailing address. The central contact information for the agency may be used, or that for the dept/sub-dept responsible for the records.
5. Under Records to be Destroyed:
   • Click Add New Record
   • Select the Schedule and Series for the records subject to destruction
     • The optional Series Notes field may be used to indicate an internal title used for these records.
   • Indicate the records’ Begin and End dates. Approximate, if needed. Dates may be entered in MM/DD/YY format.
   • Select the Volume Unit.
     • For paper or other analog records, choose Cubic Feet. You may wish to consult the written guidance on estimating volume for help in estimating the cubic footage.
     • For electronic records, choose an appropriate byte unit.
   • Type the number that represents the “Volume Amount” of records that will be destroyed, going out no further than two decimal places.
   • Choose the appropriate Destruction Method
     • For analog records that require confidential destruction, the options are Burned, Pulped, Shredded, and Media Destruction (for audio/video tapes, film, etc.).
       • For series allowing non-confidential destruction, the same options are available, plus Recycled and Trashed
     • For electronic records that require confidential destruction, the options are Overwritten, Degaussed (for magnetic media), and Physically Destroyed (destruction of the drive, disc, or other storage media containing the records).
       • The same options are available for non-confidential destruction, plus Deleted.
   • Optional Location: type brief indication of where the records have been stored.
   • Click the Add New Record button, if needed, to include up to fifteen (15) series per form. The Form Creator may remove a record entry prior to submitting this form.
   • Destruction of records in the same series should be entered into a form only once, unless there is a gap in the date ranges or both analog and electronic destruction is being reported for the same series.
6. Under Form Creator, enter your name, e-mail address twice (for validation), telephone number, and title in the respective fields. The Title field does not accept any type of punctuation mark. [Note: an incorrect email address entered here will irrevocably prevent the process from moving forward]
7. Click the “Submit Completed Form” button at the bottom of the form.
   • A web page will thank you for submitting the certificate and ask you to check your inbox for a verification email in order to proceed. Close the browser/tab.
8. Open the verification email that arrives in your inbox.
   • Click the Confirm Email button. This ensures that the Form Creator actually has access to this email address (a security measure).
   • Receive a message in a new browser window that the form has been sent to the Approving Official designated in step 3. Close browser/tab and delete the email.

For the Approving Official (AO) to affirm records for / withhold records from destruction, they will:

1. Receive an email containing the subject “Approving Review Required for RM-3 #FormNumber"
2. Open the email to confirm the Form Creator’s (FC) name and email address.
   • If they are not recognized, close the email, delete it, and do nothing more
   • If they are recognized, click the Begin Approving button to open a web form.
3. Review all entries created by the FC for accuracy and any holds
4. If the form appears accurate and there are no current, pending, or reasonably anticipated holds (audits, subpoenas, FOIA requests, investigations or any other reason to delay destruction) on these records, then under Affirmation:
   • Click the check box that affirms that there is no reason to withhold the records from destruction
   • Click the Approve Certificate button.
   • Close the browser window containing the message that the form has been sent to the Records Officer for approval.
   • Delete the FC email.

If the Approving Official (AO) determines that the form contains inaccuracies or record
series for which a hold is in place or anticipated, the AO will:

1. Click the flag next to any or all respective, inaccurate field(s).
2. Enter a brief Reason for Flagging in the appearing text box(es)
3. Click the Return for Revision button that now appears at the bottom of the form
4. Close the browser window indicating the form has been sent to the creator for editing.
5. Delete the FC email.

The FC will:

1. Receive the email containing the subject "Edits Required for RM-3 #FormNumber"
2. Open the message and click the Begin Editing button.
3. Scroll through the form to identify the flagged fields.
   • If a flag appears next to all of the series under Records to be Destroyed, with the text box(es) indicating that all series are subject to a hold, then the FC will:
     • Close the browser window and delete the AO email.
     • Receive an email in eleven (11) days containing the subject "Reminder: Edits Required for RM-3 #FormNumber".
       • If the hold has been lifted, resume the process.
       • If the hold has not been lifted, retain the email.
       • If the hold is lifted within the next sixty-four (64) days, return to the Reminder: email and complete the process.
       • If the hold is not lifted within the next sixty-four days:
         • Delete the email that will arrive containing the subject "Form ID FormNum has been removed due to inactivity".
         • Delete the Reminder: email, ending the process here.
   • If the form can be corrected, the FC will:
     • Complete the corrections
     • Click the Submit Completed Form button at bottom of the form.
     • Close the browser window that indicates the edits have been sent to the AO.
     • Delete the AO’s Edits Required email.

After the Approving Official has affirmed that there are no holds, the Records Officer
(RO) will:

1. Receive an email, subject “Officer Review Required for RM-3 #FormNum".
2. Open the email and confirm the FC and AO names and email addresses are accurate.
3. Click the Begin Approving link to review the form for completeness and accuracy.
4. If no incompleteness or inaccuracies are found:
   • Enter any optional notes in the Records Officer Notes free-form field.
   • Under Final Destruction Authorization Recipient, click the radio button to designate who will affirm the records’ destruction, the FC or the RO. This should be the person with the specific knowledge of when the records were destroyed.
   • Under Affirmation, if the statements can be affirmed, click the check box
   • Click Approve Certificate
   • Close the browser indicating the final email has been sent to confirm the records have been destroyed and delete the AO e-mail.
5. If any incompleteness or inaccuracies are found:
   • Click the flag next to the errant field(s) and enter a brief Reason for Flagging
   • Click the Return for Revision button at the bottom of the form.
   • Close the browser window indicating the form has been sent to the creator for editing.
   • Delete the AO email.

Either the FC or the RO affirming destruction will:

1. Receive the email “Records Destruction Affirmation for RM-3 #FormNumber”
2. If needed, open the email and click View Records to review the records authorized for destruction.
3. Close and hold the email until the records have been destroyed
4. Shortly following destruction, best practice is the same day, open the email and click View Records.
5. At the bottom, under Affirmation, click the check box and then Affirm Destruction
6. Close the browser window confirming destruction and delete the affirmation email.

Following the affirmation of destruction, the Form Creator (FC) and the Records Officer (RO)
will receive an email with the subject, “Records Destruction Form #FormNumber has been
completed”

1. Open the email and click on the “View Completed Form” button
2. A browser window will open, displaying the completed form and a Print Form button at the top.
3. The completed form may be reviewed and printed to paper or pdf, or not at all. The agency will no longer have to keep a copy. All forms completed via this process will be available on the Completed RM-3 Forms webpage.
4. Close the browser form and delete the Destruction Form email.

General Notes:

1. After eleven (11) days of inactivity at any step in the process, the person in the role at which the process has stalled will receive an e-mail which will contain the same subject line as the initial message preceded by Reminder: If the inactivity occurs the first time the process goes to the Approving Official, the Form Creator will be copied.
2. On the seventy-fifth (75th) day of inactivity, the person in the role at which the process has stalled, as well as the Form Creator, will receive an email containing the notification that Form ID #FormNumber has been removed due to inactivity.
3. Along with the Completed RM-3 Forms webpage, there is also a dashboard from which In-Progress forms may be monitored.
   • Tip: After either search form has been filled out, and the Search Forms button clicked, the results page may be saved as a favorite or bookmark and then used as a shortcut to your frequently viewed pages.

The RM-3 form requires agencies to report a good faith estimate for the volume of records they are destroying. Volume is reported in cubic feet for paper records and in bytes for digital records. The following lists various examples and their volume:

Cubic Volume Equivalency Formula

L x W x H (in inches) divided by 1728 = cubic footage. Round up or down.

Drawers

• Letter Size File Drawer: 1.5 cubic feet (c.f.)
• Legal Size File Drawer: 2 c.f.

Open Shelves

• Letter Size Open Shelf (36"): 2.4 c.f.
• Legal Size Open Shelf (36"): 3 c.f.

Boxes

• Records Center Box (15"x12"x10"): 1 c.f.

Paper Files

• Letter Size Files (15 linear inches): 1 c.f.
• Letter Size Files (12 linear inches): 0.8 c.f.
• Legal Size Files (12 linear inches): 1 c.f.

Electronic Records

Coordinate with your IT department and report in terms of bytes. Example: 50KB, 2GB, 1MB

Copy-Paper Case

• Letter Size Copy-Paper Case (11" x 17" x 10.5"): 1.2 c.f.
• Legal Size Copy-paper Case (14" x 17" x 10.5"): 1.5 c.f.
• 11 x 17 Size Copy-paper Case (11" x 17" x 9"): 1 c.f.

Cards

• 3x5 Cards (12 Linear Inches): 0.1 c.f.
• 4x6 Cards (12 Linear Inches): 0.2 c.f.
• 5x8 Cards (12 Linear Inches): 0.3 c.f.

Microfilm

• 16 mm Microfilm (90 Boxed Rolls): 1 c.f.
• 35 mm Microfilm (50 Boxed Rolls): 1 c.f.
• Standard Microfiche (12 Linear Inches): 0.2 c.f.

VHS Cassettes

• 1/2" VHS Cassettes (encased) – 37 (.027 cf each): 1 c.f.

Audio Cassettes

• 3/8” Audio Cassettes (encased) – 200 (.005 cf each): 1 c.f.

Gallons

• 7.481 Gallons (approximately): 1 c.f.

Weight

• Weight - Twenty (20) lbs. (approximately): 1 c.f.

Please read the following instructions before beginning your form:

• ARC-1 Preparation Instructions (PDF) (2012)
• ARC-1 Preparation Instructions (Video) (2013)
• Completed Sample ARC-1 (2013)

Find the single-page and continuation forms below:

• Blank ARC-1 Form (2013)
• Blank ARC-1 Continuation Form (2013)

Please read the following instructions before beginning your form:

• ARC-2 Preparation Instructions (PDF) (2012)
• ARC-2 Preparation Instructions (Video) (2013)
• Completed Sample ARC-2 (2013)

Find the single-page and continuation forms below:

• Blank ARC-2 Form (2013)
• Blank ARC-2 Continuation Form (2013)

Please read the following instructions before beginning your form:

• ARC-3 Preparation Instructions (PDF) (2013)

Find the single-page and continuation forms below:

• Blank ARC-3 Form (2012)
• Blank ARC-3 Continuation Form (2012)