The three core stages of a records lifecycle are creation or receipt , maintenance and use , and disposition (which includes destruction or long‑term archiving).

Creation or receipt

This stage is when a record is first generated or received, such as an email, contract, invoice, or report.

  • The focus is on capturing the information accurately and completely so it can be trusted as evidence.
  • Good practices here include assigning metadata (like author, date, version) and classifying the record correctly so it can be organized and retrieved later.

Maintenance and use

Once created, records enter an active phase where they are stored, accessed, shared, and updated as part of day‑to‑day business.

  • Tasks in this stage include secure storage, version control, access control, and routine backups to protect integrity and confidentiality.
  • Records may move from active storage (frequently used) to semi‑active storage (used less often) but are still kept for legal, operational, or historical reasons.

Disposition (final stage)

In the disposition stage, a record reaches the end of its required retention period and is either securely destroyed or transferred to an archive for permanent preservation.

  • Destruction is done in a controlled, documented way (e.g., shredding, secure digital deletion) to protect sensitive information and comply with law.
  • Records with long‑term historical, legal, or cultural value are preserved in archival systems so they can be accessed as part of institutional memory.

Example mini “Quick Scoop” view

  • Stage 1 – Creation/Receipt: Record is born; captured, classified, and tagged correctly so it can be found later.
  • Stage 2 – Maintenance & Use: Record actively supports work, decisions, and compliance; it is stored securely and kept accurate and accessible.
  • Stage 3 – Disposition: Record’s retention time ends; it is either securely destroyed or archived permanently if it has enduring value.

TL;DR: In records management, every record lives through three main stages—creation, maintenance/use, and final disposition—and good control at each stage reduces risk, improves compliance, and keeps information usable over time.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.