A federal record is any recorded information, in any form (paper, email, text, database, audio, video, etc.), that is made or received by a federal agency in connection with public business and that is kept or appropriate to keep as evidence of government activities or because of its informational value.

Core legal definition

  • Under 44 U.S.C. 3301, “records” include all recorded information, regardless of form or characteristics, made or received by a federal agency under federal law or in connection with public business.
  • They must be preserved, or be appropriate for preservation, as evidence of the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations, or other activities of the U.S. Government, or because of the informational value of the data.

What can be a federal record?

  • Traditional documents such as correspondence, memos, reports, forms, case files, and meeting minutes can all be federal records if they document agency business.
  • Digital materials like emails, text messages, spreadsheets, databases, social media posts, and electronic documents can also be federal records when they are created or used to conduct official agency work.

What is not a federal record?

  • Purely personal materials (such as personal emails or notes unrelated to agency business) kept for an employee’s private convenience are not federal records.
  • Extra copies kept only for reference, drafts that do not add substantive information, and some routine working materials may be treated as nonrecord materials if they are not needed as evidence of agency decisions or activities.

Simple test employees use

  • Ask whether the information was required or used to conduct agency business, and whether it documents how the agency is organized, what it decided, or how it operates.
  • If the answer is yes and it is kept (or should be kept) for evidence or informational value, it is very likely a federal record subject to federal records management laws.

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