What is a SAORM?

A SAORM — Senior Agency Official for Records Management — is the senior executive each U.S. federal agency must designate to provide high-level accountability for its records management program. The role exists to ensure recordkeeping has executive sponsorship and is tied to agency leadership.

What the SAORM does

• Owns accountability for the agency’s compliance with the Federal Records Act and NARA requirements.
• Champions modernization, including the transition to fully electronic recordkeeping.
• Reports annually to NARA on the agency’s records management progress through a required SAORM report.
• Provides authority to resolve cross-functional issues a working-level officer can’t.

SAORM vs. Agency Records Officer

The two roles are complementary:

• The SAORM is the senior executive who provides authority and accountability.
• The Agency Records Officer (the records officer) runs the program day to day — schedules, policy, training, and coordination with NARA.

Think of it as governance and execution: the SAORM ensures records management has a seat at the leadership table and answers for results, while the records officer does the operational work. Designating a SAORM is a requirement reflecting how central — and cross-cutting — records management is to a federal agency’s mission.