What happens to a federal employee's records and email when they leave or change agencies?

When a federal employee departs or transfers, their work-related records do not simply leave with them. Federal records are the property of the government, not of the individual who created them. The departing employee’s role is to ensure those records remain in the agency’s custody, properly organized, and available for continued use.

Records Belong to the Agency

Anything an employee creates or receives in the course of official business that documents agency activities may qualify as a federal record. This includes documents, working files, and electronic content such as email and other messages. Personal materials and non-record convenience copies can be removed, but actual records must stay behind so the agency can meet its legal, operational, and accountability obligations.

What Happens to Email

Email is treated like any other record: its disposition depends on content and value, not on its format. Some messages are short-lived and may be deleted under an approved schedule; others must be retained for years or preserved permanently. When someone leaves, agencies are expected to capture and retain the record email in that account rather than deleting the mailbox outright. Senior officials’ email often carries longer or permanent retention because it documents significant decisions.

Retention and Disposition

How long records are kept is governed by approved records schedules, including government-wide General Records Schedules and agency-specific schedules. Departure does not change a record’s retention period. Records that are still within their retention window must be kept until they are eligible for disposal or transfer, and permanently valuable records are eventually transferred to the National Archives.

Transferring Between Agencies

Moving to another agency does not give an employee a personal claim to the records they handled. The records generally remain with the originating agency that has custody and recordkeeping responsibility for them. The receiving agency creates and manages its own records going forward.

Why It Matters

Proper handling at departure protects continuity, supports oversight, and ensures records remain available for FOIA requests, audits, litigation, and historical preservation. Strong offboarding procedures, clear policies, and good system controls all help.

Learn more at the federal records hub.