Definitions of Record Types

State Record

Any written, photographic, or other recorded information created or received by or on behalf of a state agency or an elected state official that documents activities in the conduct of the state business or the use of public resources Texas Government Code §441.180. Emails received on office computers fall under the definition of state record and must be treated as such according to the content of the email and based on the requirements of the retention schedule.

Copies of Record

The official state record kept on file as the original or master copy and maintained by the institution for the total retention period. These records are subject to the retention schedule and must be disposed of in a timely manner according to the retention schedule. Failure to do so results in non-compliance.

Copies of record require approval prior to destruction or disposition. The Records Destruction Form must be completed, submitted to the Records Officer and returned to the department fully approved before destruction or disposition can take place. If you are unsure whether the document you hold is the copy of record please contact Catherine Rudowsky by email at catherine.rudowsky@tamucc.edu or by telephone at 361-825-2644.

Transitory Records

Records that have temporary usefulness and are needed only for a limited time for the completion of a particular action. These records are not essential to the documentation of an agency’s functions, they are not a part of any record series and they are not listed in the Record Retention Schedule. These records can be disposed of without approval; however departments should have a process for disposing of these records. Examples of transitory records include temporary information such as telephone messages, routing slips, some memos, some draft documents, incoming letters that add nothing of substance, routine information that is used for communication but not for documentation.

Convenience Copies

All other copies of the copy of record that were created for convenience, reference, or research. Convenience copies can be destroyed at any time but must be destroyed by the end of the retention period. They cannot be kept longer than the record copies. If a convenience copy is kept longer than the record copy it becomes a copy of record and results in non-compliance.

Inactive Records

Records that are referred to infrequently but must be maintained until the retention period is over.

Active Records

Records that are needed to perform current operations or duties. They are accessed frequently and should be near the user.