Only a small fraction of records — often just a few percent — have value that endures beyond their original business use. Archival appraisal is the judgment that identifies them: deciding which records are permanent and worth preserving indefinitely, and which are temporary and will eventually be destroyed.
What archival appraisal weighs
Archival appraisal looks for enduring value:
- Evidential value — records that document the organization’s origins, functions, decisions, and how it was structured and operated.
- Informational value — records valuable for the information they contain about people, places, events, or subjects, beyond the organization itself.
- Historical, legal, and continuing value — significance for research, accountability, and rights over the long term.
Records judged to have such value are designated permanent; the rest are temporary, with defined retention periods.
How it differs from retention appraisal
The two are related but distinct:
- Retention appraisal (covered in how to appraise records) focuses on how long records are needed for administrative, legal, and fiscal purposes — driving retention periods for the majority of (temporary) records.
- Archival appraisal focuses on the enduring value question — which records cross the line into permanent, to be preserved in an archives.
In practice they’re done together when a records schedule is built: each series gets both a retention period and a temporary/permanent determination.
Why it matters
Appraisal is consequential in both directions. Designating too little as permanent risks losing records of lasting value forever (and, for federal records, unlawfully destroying permanent records). Designating too much as permanent imposes unsustainable preservation cost and buries the truly significant in noise. Good appraisal is disciplined selectivity.
What happens next
Records appraised as permanent are eventually transferred to an archives (for federal records, to NARA), where the emphasis shifts from business use to long-term preservation and access. See the vital records, archives and preservation hub for more.
Sources & further reading
Authoritative government and non-profit references.
- Appraisal and scheduling of records — National Archives (NARA)
- Society of American Archivists — about archives — Society of American Archivists
How to cite this page
APA
RM University Editorial Team. (2026). Archival Appraisal: Selecting Records for Permanent Preservation. Records Management University. https://www.recordsmgmt.org/articles/archival-appraisal/
MLA
RM University Editorial Team. "Archival Appraisal: Selecting Records for Permanent Preservation." Records Management University, 16 June 2026, www.recordsmgmt.org/articles/archival-appraisal/.