Permanent Records
Records appraised as having enduring value — historical, legal, or evidential — that are preserved indefinitely rather than destroyed, and (in government) transferred to an archives.
Permanent records are those appraised as having value that endures beyond their original administrative use — historical, legal, or evidential significance worth preserving indefinitely. They are the opposite of temporary records, which are destroyed at the end of their retention period.
In the U.S. federal government, records scheduled as permanent are eventually transferred to the National Archives, which preserves them and makes them available to the public. Permanent records are a small fraction of all records — typically just a few percent — but they form the lasting documentary record of an organization’s most significant activities and decisions. Preserving permanent digital records over the long term is the work of digital preservation.