What is an SF-115 and how is it used to dispose of federal records?

The Standard Form 115 (SF-115), titled Request for Records Disposition Authority, is the form federal agencies use to ask the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) for legal authority to dispose of their records. In the federal system, agencies cannot destroy records on their own judgment. Disposition must be authorized in advance, and the SF-115 is the mechanism that creates that authority.

Why It Exists

Federal records are the property of the United States, not of the individuals or offices that create them. Records may only be destroyed or transferred to NARA’s legal custody under an approved schedule. The SF-115 is how an agency proposes a schedule, describing the records and recommending how long they should be kept and what their final fate should be.

What an Agency Proposes

On the form, the agency typically:

• Identifies the records by series or category, describing their content and function.
• Proposes a retention period — how long the records must be kept to meet legal, operational, and historical needs.
• Recommends a final disposition — either temporary (destroyed after the retention period) or permanent (transferred to NARA for long-term preservation as archival material).

How NARA Reviews and Approves

NARA appraises each proposal, weighing the records’ ongoing value against the public’s interest in preserving those with enduring historical, legal, or evidential significance. Archivists may accept, modify, or reject the agency’s recommendation. Once approved, the schedule becomes the binding disposition authority the agency must follow.

How It Drives Disposal

After approval, the authorized schedule governs the lifecycle of those records. When records reach the end of their retention period, the agency may dispose of them as authorized — destroying temporary records or transferring permanent ones to the Archives. Many common records are already covered by NARA’s government-wide General Records Schedules, so agencies file an SF-115 mainly for records unique to their own programs.

In short, the SF-115 is the gateway between an agency’s recordkeeping and lawful disposition: no approved authority, no destruction. It ensures that decisions to keep or destroy federal records are deliberate, documented, and accountable.

Learn more at the federal records topic hub.