Time-Based Retention

Time-based retention is the most common way retention schedules express how long records must be kept: a set duration counted from a calculable trigger date. The clock might start when a record is created, when a case file is closed, when a fiscal or calendar year ends, or on another fixed event, and the record stays active for that span before it reaches its disposition action.

This matters because predictable timing lets organizations defensibly destroy or transfer records on a consistent cadence, reducing storage cost, privacy exposure, and discovery burden while satisfying legal and regulatory minimums. It also makes disposition auditable, since the eligibility date can be computed and documented.

For example, a routine financial voucher might carry a “destroy 6 years after fiscal year end” rule. Contrast this with event-based retention, where the clock starts only when something happens, such as a contract terminating or an employee separating. Many schedules combine both: an event sets the trigger, then a time period runs from it. In electronic systems, retention rules are increasingly aligned with the Universal ERM Requirements and FERMI, following NARA’s 2022 decision to end its DoD 5015.2 endorsement.