How long should travel vouchers and employee expense reports be retained?

Travel vouchers and employee expense reports are financial transaction records, and their retention is governed by a published records schedule rather than by personal preference or office habit. For U.S. federal agencies, the controlling authority is the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) General Records Schedules (GRS), which cover routine administrative and financial records common to most agencies.

Where the Retention Period Comes From

Travel and expense documentation generally fall under the GRS coverage for financial management and reimbursement records. The schedule assigns a disposition that defines how long the records are kept and when they may be destroyed. Because GRS items are periodically revised, the safest practice is to consult the current GRS for the exact item number and disposition rather than relying on a remembered figure.

These records are almost always temporary, not permanent. They document a routine business transaction, support an audit trail, and have no long-term historical value once their administrative and accountability purposes are met.

A Practical Rule of Thumb

For most travel vouchers and expense reports, retention is measured in a small number of years after the relevant fiscal year closes or after final payment and reconciliation. The retention period is designed to outlast the window in which the transaction could be audited, questioned, or reopened.

When fixing a period, account for overlapping requirements:

• Audit and accountability — records must survive the agency’s normal audit cycle.
• Tax-related elements — where vouchers support tax-relevant transactions, separate tax recordkeeping timeframes may apply.
• Litigation or investigation holds — any active hold suspends destruction regardless of the scheduled period.

What to Do in Practice

1. Identify the specific GRS item that covers travel and reimbursement records.
2. Apply the longer period when more than one requirement overlaps.
3. Suspend disposition immediately if a legal hold, audit, or investigation is active.
4. Document the disposition you applied so destruction is defensible.

Non-federal organizations should follow their own approved retention schedule, which is typically informed by tax, audit, and employment recordkeeping rules.

For broader context on how schedules and dispositions work, see the federal records hub.