OMB/NARA Memorandum M-19-21 (M-19-21)

M-19-21, “Transition to Electronic Records,” is the 2019 memorandum from the Office of Management and Budget and the National Archives that set U.S. federal agencies on the path to fully electronic recordkeeping. It directed agencies to manage records electronically and to transfer permanent records to NARA in electronic form with appropriate metadata, moving the government away from paper.

M-19-21 established the framework and goals later updated and extended by M-23-07 (2022), which adjusted deadlines and reaffirmed that, after the transition date, NARA would no longer accept transfers of permanent records in analog formats except by exception. Together the two memos are the defining federal mandate behind the modern push to electronic records management and electronic transfer to the National Archives.