Active Records
Records used frequently in current business and kept close at hand for ready access, typically in office or online systems — the first phase of the records lifecycle's use stage.
Active records are records referenced frequently in the course of current business and therefore kept readily accessible — in office filing systems, shared drives, or live applications. They’re in heavy day-to-day use, so the priorities are quick retrieval and protection from unauthorized change.
As records age and reference drops off, they typically become inactive (or semi-active) and can move to lower-cost storage such as a records center for the remainder of their retention period. Distinguishing active from inactive records lets an organization match storage to use — fast, accessible storage for what’s needed now, and cheaper storage for what must be kept but is rarely touched.