Local Government Record Retention Schedules

Counties have historically been charged with managing many important records that impact the daily lives and well-being of their residents. Whether property records, leins on property, tax records, voter information, or
records of birth, marriage and death they are all important to the individual and the county.

The management of these records is a critical function of county government. Preserving these documents is an awesome responsibility in that without proper care, the history of the county and its citizens can be lost, misplaced or damaged. To carry out the task of managing its records, counties must be able to create and maintain an efficient record management system to identify, locate, and preserve its records.

A good records management plan requires a lot of education and hard work. As the records custodian for Peach County, the county clerk must inventory, organize, maintain, archive and delete records according to the city’s records retention schedule.

All local governments are required by state law to have an adopted records management plan which includes:

• The designation of a records manager to coordinate and perform the responsibilities of the plan
• An approved records retention schedule
• Provisions for the maintenance and security of the records

Most local governments have adopted the state recommended records retention schedule for local governments. This schedule is reviewed every two years by the Georgia Archives Division and updated accordingly.

Search the Georgia Archives website’s local government records retention schedule database. This schedule provides retention periods for records created by local governments. The records fall into two categories: common and specific. Common Record Categories include records, such as budget and accounting records, which may be created by any local government agency. The retention period provided applies to the record, regardless of which agency created it. Specific Record Categories include records, such as parking tickets, which are created by a specific government agency and no other.