Retention Schedules or Records Disposition Authorities (RDAs)

RDAs are issued by the State Records Commission under the authority granted by the Code of Alabama 1975, Sections 41-13-5 and 41-13-20 through 21. RDAs list records created and maintained by the agency in carrying out its mandated functions and activities. It establishes minimum retention periods and disposition instructions for those records and provides the legal authority for the agency to implement records destruction.

Annual RDA Implementation Report

RDAs constitute authorization by the State Records Commission for the disposition of records of the agency as stipulated in the document. One condition of the authorization is that all state agencies submit an annual RDA Implementation Report to the Alabama Department of Archives and History. The FY 2022 Annual RDA Implementation Report will be due on January 13, 2023.

State Records Commission

The State Records Commission is charged with the responsibility of determining "which state records shall be permanently preserved because of historical value and which state records may be destroyed or otherwise disposed of…No state officer or agency head shall cause any state records to be destroyed or otherwise disposed of without first obtaining approval of the State Records Commission."

Transfer Permanent Records

The State Records Commission through RDAs determines which public records shall be preserved permanently because of historical value. State agency permanent records should be transferred to the Department of Archives and History for preservation and access.

Destroy Temporary Records

The RDAs establish retention and disposition instructions, regardless of the medium on which those records may be kept. Destruction notices, however, should be completed, signed, and maintained as documentation of legal destruction and reported annually to the Alabama Department of Archives and History.

State Records Center

For a small monthly fee, the State Records Center will retain your temporary paper records and keep track of authorized destruction dates, so that you will not have to worry about records disposition.