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Records Management University
E-Discovery & Litigation Readiness

The data we need for discovery lives in a system we're about to decommission—how do we handle it?

Decommissioning a system that holds potentially discoverable data is one of the higher-risk moments in records and information governance. The core obligation does not disappear when the hardware does: if litigation is reasonably anticipated or already underway, relevant information must be preserved. Retiring the system without addressing that duty can lead to spoliation findings, sanctions, or adverse inferences.

Identify the duty before you touch the data

First determine whether a preservation obligation exists. In US federal civil litigation, the duty to preserve attaches when litigation is reasonably anticipated, and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure govern much of the process. Standards differ by jurisdiction — state courts, regulators, and other countries impose their own rules — so confirm scope with counsel early.

If a legal hold is in place, the data in the target system is almost certainly within its reach. Map what the system contains, who the custodians are, and which records overlap active holds or retention schedules.

Preserve before you migrate

Treat preservation and migration as separate steps:

  • Preserve in place or capture a defensible copy of held data before any cutover, including relevant metadata, audit logs, and structural relationships.
  • Document the chain of custody and the migration method so you can later show the data is complete and unaltered.
  • Validate that exported content is readable and searchable in its new home, not just transferred.

Native formats and metadata often matter as much as the content itself. Losing them during conversion can undermine authenticity later.

Migrate the rest under retention rules

Data not subject to a hold still follows its retention schedule. Dispose of records only when their approved schedule allows and no hold applies — never as a side effect of shutting a system down. Frameworks such as ISO 15489-1 reinforce capturing records with enough context to remain usable over time.

Decommissioning succeeds when legal defines obligations, records/IG confirms retention and disposition authority, and IT executes the technical migration and validation. Build a documented timeline, keep the source system or a verified copy available until preservation is confirmed, and record decisions throughout.

For more on the discipline overall, see /topics/ediscovery/.

Sources & further reading

Authoritative government and non-profit references.

How to cite this page

APA

RM University Editorial. (2026). The data we need for discovery lives in a system we're about to decommission—how do we handle it?. Records Management University. https://www.recordsmgmt.org/questions/how-to-handle-discovery-data-in-a-system-being-decommissioned/

MLA

RM University Editorial. "The data we need for discovery lives in a system we're about to decommission—how do we handle it?." Records Management University, 16 June 2026, www.recordsmgmt.org/questions/how-to-handle-discovery-data-in-a-system-being-decommissioned/.

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