What is the difference between a system owner and a records officer when it comes to electronic recordkeeping?

System owners and records officers both help keep electronic records trustworthy, but they answer different questions. The system owner is accountable for how the technology works; the records officer is accountable for whether the information meets recordkeeping obligations. The two roles overlap constantly, which is why understanding the boundary matters.

The System Owner

A system owner is the person or office accountable for a specific information system or application. Their focus is the platform itself and the data it holds. Typical responsibilities include:

• Operating, maintaining, and securing the system.
• Managing access controls, user accounts, and authentication.
• Ensuring availability, backups, and disaster recovery.
• Configuring features so the system can capture, store, and protect content.
• Overseeing change management, upgrades, and eventual decommissioning.

The system owner makes sure the technology functions reliably and securely. But running a system well is not the same as managing records well.

The Records Officer

A records officer (sometimes called a records manager or records liaison) is accountable for the recordkeeping program. Their focus is the information as records, regardless of which system holds it. Typical responsibilities include:

• Identifying which content qualifies as a record.
• Applying retention schedules and ensuring lawful, timely disposition.
• Maintaining the integrity, authenticity, and usability of records over time.
• Supporting legal holds, discovery, FOIA, and audit needs.
• Setting recordkeeping policy and training staff.

The records officer ensures the organization keeps what it must, for as long as it must, and disposes of the rest defensibly.

Where They Work Together

In electronic recordkeeping the roles are inseparable. A retention schedule means nothing if the system cannot enforce or document disposition, and a well-built system can still create compliance gaps if no one applies recordkeeping rules to its contents. Common collaboration points include:

• Configuring retention and disposition rules inside the system.
• Executing legal holds and suspending normal deletion.
• Migrating records during upgrades or system retirement without losing context or metadata.
• Capturing the metadata that proves a record is authentic and complete.

A useful shorthand: the system owner keeps the container working; the records officer makes sure the right things go in it, stay trustworthy, and leave on schedule. Strong programs define both roles clearly and keep them in regular contact.

Learn more on the electronic records topic hub.