What is the difference between a litigation hold and a records freeze, and do they cover the same documents?

A litigation hold and a records freeze both interrupt the normal lifecycle of records by suspending scheduled destruction. They are closely related and often overlap, but they are triggered differently, justified differently, and can cover very different sets of documents.

Litigation hold

A litigation hold (also called a “legal hold” or “preservation hold”) is a directive to preserve potentially relevant information when litigation, an investigation, or a government inquiry is reasonably anticipated. The triggering event is legal: once a duty to preserve attaches, an organization must stop routine disposition of material that may be evidence.

Key characteristics:

• Scope is defined by relevance. It captures records and information likely to relate to the dispute, including drafts, emails, and other material that might never appear on a retention schedule.
• It is issued and overseen by counsel. Legal owns the decision about what to preserve and for how long.
• It can pull in non-records. Transitory or convenience copies that would normally be deleted may have to be retained because they are relevant.

Records freeze

A records freeze is a records-management action that halts the disposition of a defined body of records, usually identified by a retention schedule, record series, or system. The trigger is administrative rather than strictly legal: an audit, a FOIA or public-records request, an internal review, or a policy decision can justify a freeze.

Key characteristics:

• Scope is defined by category. A freeze typically applies to identified series or systems rather than to “anything relevant.”
• It is managed by records or program staff under the organization’s records policy.
• It suspends the schedule but does not necessarily expand preservation beyond what the schedule already governs.

Do they cover the same documents?

Often they overlap, but not completely. A litigation hold can reach material that no records freeze would touch because it is keyed to legal relevance, not to record categories. A records freeze can cover routine records that are not tied to any dispute. When both apply, preserve under the broader obligation and document your decisions.

For agency context on suspending disposition, see your records policy framework and the broader resources on the federal records topic hub.